Fools Rush In
by LaLopez1981
Summary: Avengers AU/Modern Day. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, heads to Sweden for a week, escaping a certain pushy redhead and meets raven-haired, green-eyed spitfire, Loki Odinsdottir. They spend one night together and she disappears. When she pops up again three months later while he's in town for a few months, she has a surprise that knocks him for a loop.
1. Whiskey Straight

**A/N: ****If the story sounds familiar, it should! I was watching the movie _Fools Rush In_, with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek, and I casually wondered if anyone would read an Avengers AU, _Fools Rush In_-inspired fic. I got a lot of positive responses so, here it is!**

**I just want to reiterate, this is a modern AU, and my first time writing Fem!Loki. In this setting, Tony is NOT Iron Man and does NOT have an arc reactor. And his parents are still alive (Howard is retired, which is why Tony is CEO). Also ((and this is explained in the story)) Loki was adopted as baby by Odin and Frigga, but born to Laufey and Farbauti (who are much younger than Odin and Frigga). Balder appears in this fic, but he is older than Loki. And Byleifer and Helbindi, who have modern nicknames (Leif and Lindy, respectively), are her younger brothers on the Laufey side.**

**It sounds confusing here, but I promise it will make sense in the story. It's just a bit of fun, so enjoy! :)**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

Tony Stark was having a bad day. He was woken rather abruptly that morning—a Sunday morning, no less—by his assistant, after a night that saw him having one too many bottles of alcohol. He had completely forgotten about his impending trip to Sweden for the country's technology expo to show off his latest technological goodies and was now running an hour late to catch the plane. Then again, his plane, his rules.

And that was all before noon.

Now he was situated comfortably on his private jet, trying very hard to rid himself of his pounding hangover headache, but was instead being forced to listen to one Pepper Potts grill him about his activities the prior evening.

Tony understood as his some-time bedmate that she had every right to ask these questions. But as his right hand woman, his executive assistant, during work hours, he preferred she keep that particular line very firmly drawn.

"Are you really not going to tell me what you did last night?" her image asked from the StarkPhone he held in his hand, her blue eyes boring holes into him even from thousands of miles below him.

Tony groaned, longing for a pill to just make it all go away. The plane jolted him in his seat and he clenched his teeth against the nauseous feeling that washed over him. "Not while I'm working I'm not," he grunted out.

"What work? You're on a plane to Sweden."

"Yeah, for _work_ purposes. Also, I could be _doing_ some work if it weren't for this never-ending annoying-as-hell phone call."

Pepper heaved a weary sigh. "Fine, I'll let you go. Just think about what I said, Tony."

"Yeah." He rubbed at the throbbing pain behind his eyes. "Yeah, I will."

"I'm serious!"

He squeezed his eyes shut, cringing against the shrillness of her voice. "Pepper! Jesus Christ, you're killing me here."

She smiled sweetly when he looked at the screen. "Not yet. Call me if you need anything. I'll see you at the end of the week, Mr. Stark."

Tony gave her a sarcastic thumbs up. "I so look forward to it, Ms. Potts!" After pressing his finger sharply to the end call button, Tony tossed it down to the seat across from him and suddenly missed the antiquated but effective gesture of slamming a phone handle down to end a call.

He sighed heavily and scrubbed his hands over his face. His father, Howard, founder and retired CEO of Stark Industries, and self-proclaimed genius, had avidly warned him. "_Don't dip your pen in the company ink_," the elder Stark had said. Sleeping with a temp filling in for a day or even a week was one thing. Sleeping with the woman you relied on for your own social security number was quite another.

But Tony couldn't help it; he was a playboy after all. And there was just something about Virginia "Pepper" Potts. Maybe it was her efficiency to do every little thing he asked her to do that turned him on. Maybe it was those cute little short-skirted suits she wore every day to work, paired with a pair of heels that made her long legs stretch on for days. Or maybe it was her long strawberry blonde hair that, upon meeting her for the first time, just made him so damn curious to find out if the carpet matched the drapes—it did. He didn't love the girl, not in the way she hoped, and evidently, that was the problem. After months of off and on, semi-drunken phenomenal rolls in the hay, Pepper was pushing for something more, for a commitment.

Perhaps the parade of swimsuit models, tech groupies, and the occasional journalist coming out of his bedroom hadn't spelled it out clearly enough for the usually adept assistant: Tony Stark didn't do commitment.

Thankfully, he had a week to figure out how to tell her that he wanted to keep it sexual—wait, no, _casual_; chicks liked casual. And after-hours, preferably, so that they could retain their professional relationship as well. He already knew, as good as he was, she would never buy it and he would either end up with a new girlfriend, a new assistant, or possibly just have to look for his entertainment elsewhere.

The plane pitched and dropped again and Tony pressed a finger to the intercom button once it had calmed itself down. "Happy, what the hell is going on up there?"

"_Sorry, boss. Just a little turbulence, that's all. Pilot says we're good."_

"That's all? I'm on a goddamn roller coaster back here."

"_Um…okay, well, why don't you go ahead and put your seatbelt on, boss. Pilot says it's gonna get a little bumpy here."_

"A little?!" Tony's stomach rolled with every knock and sudden drop in altitude and he hastily attached his seatbelt. His hands slapped down to the armrests, gripping them tightly, and he made the mistake of looking out the window, watching as the left wing of the plane took a sudden dip.

He closed his eyes and started to run figures and equations in his head, to distract himself from what was going on. He heard a high-pitched squeal followed by a quiet reassurance from the front of the plane where the stewardesses sat.

"Jarvis. Music. Now. Anything loud!"

He started to relax a bit as AC/DC came blasting through the speakers, and through clenched teeth, hummed and sang along, riding out the turbulence that lasted until just before they reached the Stockholm-Bromma airport in Sweden.

Once they were on the ground, Happy explained that there was a particularly stormy batch of clouds they had flown through and aggressively tried to appease him, to the point that Tony was so irritated he was ready to scream at his old friend. But he refrained, counting to ten about a hundred times on the drive to his hotel.

Dread settled heavily in the pit of his stomach at the sight of a good-sized crowd of people in front of the tree-lined entrance of the Nobis Hotel. Tony Stark had arrived and the press was there to capture every second of it.

The rental car came to a stop and flashes went off in his face—thank god for Ray-Bans—and people shouted and squealed his name left and right. Papers, pens, cameras, microphones, and cell phones alike, were shoved in his face as Happy used his bulk to push them through to the entrance doors.

"Sorry, boss," the former-boxer-turned-bodyguard said for what had to be the thousandth time as they finally got inside. "Go ahead and check in. I'll get your stuff in here and up to the room. Just relax and take a load off, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Hap," he muttered, making his way to the front desk. He smiled at the statuesque blonde behind the computer and went through the rigmarole of checking in. His ears burned with the whispers and hushed gasps coming from all around him and felt the interested glances coming his way, all but burning holes into his back.

Sure, fame had its upsides, but he would so enjoy a day, an hour, _five fucking minutes_, when someone wasn't staring at him like he was the product of science experiment or pleading with him for something—an autograph, a picture, to hold their baby. What the hell was with that?

He spotted a group of giggling teenagers, and while he would normally bask in their adoration, today he wasn't having it, and he felt something inside him snap from the stress of the entire day. He had to get away. He knew they heard he was staying in the Panorama Suite and he practically ran to the elevators. Slipping inside one, he asked the bellboy operating it to quickly shut the doors.

"Hey, kid, is there a back exit to this place?"

The wide-eyed blond nodded. "Erm, _ja_."

"Cool. Take me to it." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of _kronor_ that Pepper had taken the time to get for him and shoved a fifty into the young man's hand.

"_Ja, _Mister Stark."

The bellboy took Tony down to the basement, walked him through the maze of workers in the laundry and kitchen areas, and explained in very broken English the way back out to the street. Tony slipped him a few more banknotes, and walked out, clutching his jacket tightly around him, making his way to the street and was able to hail a taxi—thankfully, before he froze his balls off.

He struggled with the driver, because though he spoke a few different languages, the Scandinavian variety were not any of them. He pulled out his cell, and once more thanked Pepper, because right there in his list of apps was an English to Swedish app. He typed in _take me to the nearest bar_, and let the automated voice speak for him.

Watching the sunny, but snow-covered streets whiz by, Tony sincerely hoped Pepper was smart enough to pack sufficiently warm clothes for him. He may have lived through several blizzards and winter storms in New York, but he still preferred the moderate, Mediterranean weather of Southern California. The extreme cold he was suddenly thrust in made him miss his cliff-side mansion in Malibu.

He needed a whiskey straight, stat.

* * *

_Worst. Weekend. Ever._

Loki Odinsdottir breathed a giant sigh of relief as the plane's wheels hit the runway and she saw the familiar sights of Stockholm outside the tiny window to her right. Another stressful weekend with her two families. _And they wonder why I only come home on the weekends_, she thought to herself.

As if life as the only female sibling in two families full of giant, muscular Alpha Men wasn't bad enough, every time she went home to visit her parents and siblings, she was forced to deal with Fandral.

Fandral, the pretty, golden-haired, literal boy-next-door. Fandral, with the sapphire blue eyes, who had been chasing her since she started to fill out her sweater. Fandral, the first boy she let kiss her with tongue, the first boy she let put a hand up her skirt. Fandral, the first boy she said "I love you" to.

Fandral. The first boy she had ever lied to.

He hated that she had chosen to go to college in Stockholm. And after she finished her undergrad work, he was incensed that she elected to stay even longer to work through the graduate program. _Why can't you stay in Asgard, closer to the family, closer to _me_?_ He had asked her. She hadn't even bothered to dignify that with an answer. Guilt trips did _not_ work on Loki Odinsdottir.

He didn't get it. No one did.

Loki dreamt of bigger things than the small town of Asgard could provide her. Maybe Thor, her eldest brother, was content being a small-town policeman, and everyone else fully comfortable with living their lives in a town where everyone knew your business. But Loki felt too trapped in that town, too secluded, too stifled. Too caged in.

She was drawn to the city, the hustle and bustle. As an artist, she saw more than they did. And studying art for the majority of her adult life only made her see there was so much more, not just outside of Asgard, but outside of Sweden, as well. She didn't know if she would ever get to see any of it, but what she did know for sure: if she married Fandral, she wouldn't get to do anything but sit at home raising the brood of kids both her birth and adoptive fathers wished she had had already.

Loki belonged to what people affectionately called a blended family. If they had met hers they would give it an entirely different name. When Loki was born, her parents were very young and very unprepared. Ill-equipped to deal with a newborn, her parents, teenagers at the time, immediately gave her up for adoption.

Odin and Frigga already had a family; two sons to be exact. And Frigga wanted a little girl. They had tried for years to get pregnant again, but nothing came of it. A nurse in the maternity ward of the local hospital, Frigga was there when Baby Girl Laufey was born. And she fell in love. Taking advantage of Odin's position and influence in the small community, strings were pulled, papers were pushed, and Odin and Frigga eventually brought home their baby girl.

But Loki wasn't your average little girl. She was smaller than her big brothers, Thor and Balder, and she had jet black hair and bright green eyes, in comparison to their blond and light brown locks and striking blue eyes. Especially in temperament and intelligence, Loki far surpassed them, and was often the cause of ruckus in the house, whether fighting back with her words or hurling a heavy book or sketchpad at their thick heads.

Since she didn't behave as it was believed little girls should, Loki was often at odds with her adoptive father, Odin. In her largest act of rebellion, when she was thirteen Loki searched for and found her birth family. He was furious but Frigga was able to calm him and remind him that Loki was bound to look for them at some point.

It took time, but eventually Odin accepted Loki's birth family, and they accepted her as an extension of their family.

When she made the decision to attend Stockholm University for the art history program, Odin and Laufey hit the roof. Neither felt it was appropriate for an unmarried woman to be living alone in a big city. And Odin, in particular, didn't see the need for Loki to be getting such an advanced education, when she "would soon be getting married and raising babies."

Loki loved her father—and she did consider Odin her father—but she hated the chauvinistic side of him that preferred she be barefoot and pregnant and submissive to a husband who would think _for_ her.

Loki wasn't having any of it.

She moved out, found an apartment in Stockholm with another university student, and started living her own life. As per their requests—demands, really—she flew back home every weekend, visited both families, then left them every Sunday afternoon—and regained her sanity. And while Odin was seemingly forever unhappy with Loki's choices, Laufey had warmed to the idea of Loki being in Stockholm.

It was freezing when she made it outside and dragged her wheeled carry-on to her car, which she kept parked in the airport lot over the weekend. Twenty minutes later, after warming up the car and scraping the ice from the windshield, she was on her way to her apartment. She took her phone off of airplane mode and scoffed softly at the flood of messages that lit it up for nearly a full minute. When she glanced at the screen, she found the majority of them were from Fandral.

Frustrated, still freezing, and dying to tell her best friend and roommate what had happened at home, Loki decided to pull over to a favorite hangout on the way to her apartment to give her a quick call. Once parked, she sprinted into the bar, nearly slipping on some ice, and suddenly regretted not changing from the skirt and tights she had worn for the family breakfast out this morning. Already pulling up the number on her phone, Loki ordered a whiskey straight up before ducking into an old phone booth.

As she had expected, Natasha, her American roommate, was not amused.

_"What is his problem?"_ she cried, loud and angry, as usual. _"You haven't even seen each other since Christmas. You haven't dated since the beginning of this term and—wait. When was the last time you slept with him?"_

Loki bit into her bottom lip. "…Is that very important?"

Natasha groaned in disgust. _"You slut. When?"_

She sighed and stuttered briefly. "Just after Halloween…?"

_"Goddamn it, Loki!"_ Loki winced and yanked the phone from her ear at Natasha's screech. _"I told you to stop doing that. You keep giving him hope."_

Loki chuckled lightly. "I am aware, Tasha! But…it was right after the handsome British boy had returned home and…I was lonely. Poor excuse, I know."

_"Get over yourself, dollface. You were horny."_ Loki's silence was telltale enough. _"Where are you at now?"_

"Nelfheim's."

_"Oh, I'll come meet you."_

"No, no. I'm just going to have a quick drink to warm myself up then I'll be on my way. I shouldn't be more than forty-five minutes or so. I'll be home soon."

_"Okay. Did you give him your answer yet?"_

"No, not yet…I thought I would wait until tomorrow. You know? Make it seem as if I actually did contemplate it."

Natasha laughed her husky laugh. _"You're such a little shit, Loki!"_

"I love you, too," she laughed. "I'll see you in a bit." Loki pulled open the booth door and headed back up to the bar. A few steps from it she halted to a stop. Some idiot had taken her seat and was lifting her whiskey to his lips. A surge of irritation flowed through her when he spoke to the bartender with an American accent, and she stomped her way to the bar, ready to unleash on him.


	2. Challenge Accepted

**A/N: You guys are so good to me! So please enjoy this! 3**

**XOXO,**  
**LaLa**

* * *

Thankfully the bar was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. Tony was sure there was one in the hotel, but that would have totally defeated the purpose of his escape. As he headed into the building, anticipating the warmth of inside, he shot off a quick text to Happy, alerting him to his departure and that he would return to the hotel in about an hour. He hoped that was enough time to allow for the photographers and fans to dissipate.

Unwrapping the red and gold scarf from around his neck, letting it hang loosely, Tony made a beeline for a barstool, ignoring the locals staring at him and eyeing his slick pin-striped Savile Row suit and Burberry black trench coat. He called out for a whiskey straight, tugging off his leather gloves and stuffing them in his pockets.

He sat down and there was his drink waiting for him. "That was fast," he muttered under his breath. Still shrugging one arm from the trench coat, he picked up the glass with his freed hand and started knocking back the drink.

And suddenly someone started screaming. He looked around, startled, and eagerly anticipating the entertainment, then with a jolt he realized the screaming was aimed at him.

Tony was stunned stupid for a moment. He had been to Sweden only once or twice before—he was drunk more often than not when away from home; he couldn't recall—and he had only ever encountered leggy, blue-eyed blondes. Where they had been hiding beauties like this, he wanted to know.

She had hair black as ink, hidden mostly by a knitted cap, the ends falling in waves over her shoulders and back; her eyes were a striking malachite green, made brighter, he thought, by her heightened emotion; and her skin, despite the cold she had to be feeling in this icebox of a country, was the most flawless, creamy pale he had ever seen.

Tony mentally shook himself from ogling the woman as she continued to scream at him in a language he didn't understand, except for "_amerikansk_." He thought understood that one. He refocused and saw a flush creep up her high-boned cheeks, coloring them a rosy pink that made her look even more beautiful. But her accusatory tone was starting to draw attention. Exactly what he did not want.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tony held up his hands and looked around, hoping someone would take pity on him and help him out. But the few patrons just stared and a few even chuckled at his expense. "I don't know what—" He turned to her and made a 'T' with his hands. "Sweetheart, I don't know what you're saying. So we need to find a—"

"You took my drink, _drittsekk_."

Tony's face pinched into a frown. He was confused by her accusation and a little surprised at how well she spoke English. He looked at the half-drunk glass and back at her. "I did what?"

"That was _my_ drink," she pointed a thin pale finger at the glass. "You just swallowed down _my_ whiskey."

His lips curved a little as he stared at her for a moment. He didn't know any woman that could handle that drink.

"Hey! Stop staring at me." She thumped a tiny fist to his chest. "You owe me a goddamn drink!"

"Okay! Okay!" He turned on the stool, slapped a hand to the bar top. "Bartender! Hey…two more straight whiskeys." He lifted the glass then turned back to the woman, pointing to the stool next to him. "Here, sit down. I'll buy you a drink. And I'll even pay for this one, too."

"Damn right you will," she said, taking the stool, leaning her elbow on the bar edge, her legs crossed to the side near Tony.

Tony laughed softly. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"What's _your_ name?" she countered, her head whipping around to aim those pretty green eyes at him.

"Wh—you don't…?" He floundered for a minute, staring at her in shock, even as the bartender set down their drinks. It was a rare thing when someone didn't recognize him. Then again, he may never seen this woman again and it might work to his advantage that she didn't. "Just call me Tony."

"Tony?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes, making her long black lashes flutter. "Typically American. Brash and much too succinct."

He laughed again. He liked this girl. "It's short for Anthony, if that makes you feel better."

She lifted the whiskey to her lips, taking a long sip. "Mmm…you should introduce yourself as Anthony. It's a nice, solid name. It's better than _Tony_," she mocked in a feigned American accent.

"I'd like to return the compliment, but I don't know yours."

She smirked knowingly at him. "You are a smooth one, aren't you?"

Shamelessly flirting, Tony returned the smirk. "I've been told."

She chuckled and drank again, enjoying the warmth that spread over her cold bones. "If you really must know…"

_Yes, so I know what to moan in your ear later_, he thought with a quiet chuckle.

"My name is Loki."

Tony gave her a short nod and held up his drink toward her. "Well…it's nice to meet you, Loki."

She eyed the drink and him, taking a few beats before tapping her glass to his with a ringing _clink_. "I'd like to return the compliment, but I don't you all that well yet."

He laughed hard and loud, not even realizing his bad mood had melted away, and while she was busy taking another taste of her whiskey, he slyly ordered two more drinks, then finished off the one in his hand.

"Is this how you normally dress?" she asked giving him the once-over.

Tony preened like a proud peacock. "Like it?"

Loki chuckled, a low, throaty, teasing sound and reached for the new glass when the bartender set it down. "It is fancy. I imagine all the females at your job find themselves swooning over your apparent style every day."

"Yeah, well…it's all for show. I hate wearing suits. But when I do, I wear the best."

"Hmm…I imagine that's your philosophy for more than just your business attire." She sent him a side-ways glance, those bright green eyes glinting with something mischievous, her painted, glossy red lips turned up in another smirk, and Tony felt himself start to harden.

_Shit_. He abruptly cleared his throat and grinned at her. "So, Loki, what language was that you were shrieking at me in?"

Loki gasped loudly, mock-offended Tony could see. "Shrieking? I am not a banshee, _Anthony_. And it was Norwegian, though I do speak Swedish as well. Are you not familiar with the Nordic languages?"

"Nope. Spanish, Italian…" he grinned smugly. "Dari." He got the reaction he wanted. Loki cocked her slim black brow a little.

"Why would an American businessman possibly need to know Dari?"

Tony tilted his head. "You just answered your own question, honey. I'm a businessman. It helps when you can butter up potential investors in their own language."

Loki nodded in acknowledgement and finished off her drink. She stared at the empty glass, licking her lips, as if contemplating life and hoping to find the answer in the dregs of the whiskey left behind. Another whiskey was placed in front of her and she spent the next good half hour chatting and ridiculously flirting with this very handsome American. When her skin started to tingle, she told herself to slow down. She hadn't planned to drink this much, but she also hadn't enjoyed having a conversation with a man in a very long time. She watched him, as he spoke of New York, her eyes glued to his lips and found herself imagining what that goatee would feel like scratching against the thin skin of her inner thigh.

_Whoops_. She grinned and pushed her empty glass away.

"Let me get you one more and you can tell me how you keep busy in this freezing place." He started to search for the bartender and paused at the feel of a hand on his arm. Surprised by the contact, Tony looked at Loki with a small smile. His lips parted, ready to question her when she turned her body more toward him. His glance shot down and he could just see the curve of her breasts beneath her sweater.

"Do you really care how I keep busy…Anthony?"

Tony closed his mouth and moved his hand until his fingers mingled with hers, then lowered it to rest on her knee. "You got a place nearby?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

She looked up at him; there was no smile on her lips, but her eyes shimmered from something more than the whiskey. "Takes more than thirty minutes to drive there and I've a roommate."

"My hotel's up the street…" Tony kept his eyes on hers, watching her as his fingers crept up her thigh.

"Luka_, vill du kalla den här stiliga mannen och jag en taxi?_"

Tony's lips curved slightly. "What is it about foreign languages that make someone sound even sexier?" With his other hand, he drew a finger along her jaw to her chin and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. His eyes flicked down when she uncrossed her legs.

"_Du finner mig sexig?_"

His fingers paused in rubbing along her throat. "I don't know what you just said but I'm pretty sure I heard the word 'sex' somewhere in there."

Her smiled widened as she laughed, the tip of her tongue poking between her teeth. "Why don't you settle your bill? I'm going to run to the ladies room. I'll meet you outside for the taxi."

Tony nodded and whipped out one of his credit cards, handing it over as Loki slid off the stool. His eyes were locked on her ass as she sashayed away from the bar. After signing the receipt, he gathered up his coat, slipping it on as he headed outside. The cold hit him like a slap in the face and he rushed to slip on his gloves. A taxi pulled up just as Loki walked out, bundled up like the native she was.

He held open the door for her and she slid in to the middle of the backseat. He jumped in behind her and informed the driver of where to go. Just as they finished the discussion, his face was between two mitten-covered hands and he was being kissed by the softest lips and a delicate, pointed tongue lightly pressed against them, politely asking for entrance. He was caught off-guard, but quickly gathered his wits and parted his lips for her, dragging her body against his. He couldn't feel anything, for all the layers between them, but he started to kiss her back roughly, pushing her into the cushion of the seat.

Loki moaned softly as his lips moved more aggressively against hers and the skin of her cheeks grew hot. They were both impatient for their arrival at the hotel.

The wheels of the tiny car drove over the curb and Tony felt the bump, turning just his eyes, keeping his mouth on Loki's, willing the throng of photographers that were there earlier to be gone. Thankfully, they were. He paused the kissing long enough to hand over a few bills, uncaring how big a tip he left, and had the door open before the taxi came to a full stop. Loki followed him into the hotel and they aimed straight for the elevators. Tony tugged her inside one, close against him, and resumed his devouring of her mouth.

She laughed at his rush, glad he felt the need to hurry, too, and moaned again when his lips returned to hers. They both ignored the bellboy, who had turned his face to the corner, when he quietly cleared his throat.

Tony busied himself lapping at her mouth, sliding his tongue along hers, and reached between them to unbutton her heavier outer jacket, then to unzip the lighter one beneath it so he could slip his hand inside, pressing his hand to her ribcage, just below a full breast. She had cupped his face as he opened her coats, deepened the kiss. She had quite the talented tongue. They reluctantly pulled apart when the doors slid open and she bit her swollen lip, giggling as Tony pulled her out of the elevator.

"Come here." He pushed her up against the door when they reached it, blindly trying to get his keycard into the slot as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He finally got the door open and they both began to undress, moving together further inside. Coats, jackets, and sweaters were tossed aside, making a clothes-strewn path to the bedroom.

Loki's legs hit the bed and she let out a surprised yelp as she fell backward to it.

Tony didn't move immediately to join her, instead taking a moment to remove her thick-soled boots. Eyeing her with a smirk, he slipped his hands under her skirt to slowly pull her tights down her legs. They made a game of it and she laughed giddily when he tickled the soles of one foot. She smiled brightly up at him and when he moved forward, dropping her tights to the floor, she poked at his chest with her toes.

"Mm-mm. Take off your clothes first."

Tony cocked a brow. "What about you?"

She pushed him back harder this time, sitting up with the effort, and lifted her sweater and the shirt underneath it, over her head. Tony was practically leering at her, sitting there in just a bra and skirt, as he kicked off his own shoes and toed off his socks. He unbuckled his belt and let his pants fall and started to unbutton his shirt. Loki reached out for him then, tugging on the lapel of his dress shirt and bringing him down for a hard kiss.

He got caught up in the kiss and let her push the white shirt off of his shoulders. Once it was off, she pulled back, grinning up at him with bruised lips and flushed cheeks, and reached for the zipper on the side of her skirt. He rushed to stop her.

"No, no…leave it on for a minute."

"Hmm…" She smirked and moved up onto her knees in the middle of the bed. "Have a schoolgirl fantasy, do you?" she questioned, dragging her fingers up and down her thighs, teasingly lifting the skirt and letting it fall again.

Tony, in just his boxers now, set one knee on the bed then the other. "Maybe. Have you been a good girl, Loki?"

She backed up a little, and made a little show of pulling her panties off from under the skirt, tossing them directly to Tony. He caught them, rubbing the soft material against his cheek before setting them aside on the bedside table. "I'm never a good girl."

He reached for her again, yanking her hard against him, and covered her mouth with his, letting his hands travel down and under the skirt, kneading his fingers into silky, firm flesh, moaning against her. "Fuck…"

Loki threw her head back on a lustful sigh, her fingers sliding up into Tony's hair. "Mmm, I enjoy your hands on me, Anthony."

Tony chuckled, enjoying the sound of his full name on that throaty voice himself, and hooked his hands around her thighs, lifting her from the bed briefly, before laying her down and moving on top of her. He expertly flicked his fingers over the clasp of her bra at her back and flung it from her, freeing her breasts; two perfect mounds of rose-tipped flesh that he instantly filled his hands and mouth with. "Oh, my god…" he murmured into her satiny flesh.

Loki was breathing heavier, and she had started to writhe under him, her legs stretching and bending around him, her feet rubbing against his skin. He felt her fingers at the band of his boxers at his lower back, pushing under it and pawing at his ass. "Oh, gods, I want you inside me."

"Goddamn, Loki…" Tony rolled his hips into her, pressing his erection up against her slit and she nearly purred. "Ooh…make that noise again."

Her lips curved, her bottom one caught between her teeth. "Press into me right there again." He did, harder, longer, and she purred even deeper.

"Jesus Christ, you're beautiful."

Arching her back, exposing her throat and gasping when Tony nibbled on it, Loki moaned again as if she was in pain, and her body trembled when he slid his fingers down to feel her hot, wet, and ready for him. "Anthony, please…"

He chuckled shortly against her ear and pushed a finger inside her. "Beg for it, Loki."

Her body bowed against the intrusion of his finger, but she threw her head to the side, away from his hot mouth, and laughed, a throaty chuckle that made her vibrate against him. "Stop being a damn asshole, Anthony."

"Such dirty little words from such a pretty little mouth." He kissed her again, before she could respond, and entered a second finger, moving them in and out in a steady pace as he sucked on and teased her tongue with his own. She pressed her hands into his shoulders to break the kiss, keeping her hips moving against his fingers. He grinned at the rosy flush her dewy, pale skin had adopted and met her gaze, darkened chocolate brown meeting burning dark emerald.

"Will you…stop talking…and fuck me already?"

He growled and ran his teeth over his bottom lip. "Yes, ma'am." He rolled off of her, jumping to his feet to drop his boxers and jogged back toward the entrance to the room to find his suit jacket and fish out his wallet. When he found what he needed, and returned to the bedroom, he moaned at the sight. Loki was laying back, her legs spread, her skirt up and over her waist, slowly fingering herself. He stroked himself a little, after slipping on the condom, and playfully clucked his tongue. "Don't go starting without me now."

"Then hurry up before I finish by myself."

"That might be a pretty sight I'd like to see one day." He pushed her hand away, bending down to tease both of them, by licking up her opening before kneeling between her legs. His lips smacked together noisily. "You taste even better than I thought you would," he murmured against her mouth before pressing his to it.

She breathed a short laugh into the kiss, cupping his chin in one hand. He pressed the tip of his cock to her entrance, teasingly rubbing it up and down, and her lips parted against his. She breathed shakily into his mouth. "Do it," she gasped.

The words had barely left her mouth before Tony slid himself inside her, past the initial resistance, until he was fully sheathed. "Ohhhh fuck!"

"Unh!" His chin, still in her hand, was pushed up, away from her mouth, as she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. "Wait, wait, don't move. Ohhh…" she sighed slowly, letting her head fall back to the bed.

Tony nibbled at her cheek and jaw. "Am I hurting you?"

"Oh, no…just…oh gods…"

His face pressed to the side of hers, Tony started to move at the same even pace he had moved his fingers, trailing a hand down her thigh, hooking his hand in the crook of her knee to lift her leg and wrap it around his waist. "Jesus fuck."

Loki laughed at his words, but it was choked off abruptly at the lift of her leg, putting him even deeper inside her. She couldn't form any words, couldn't tell him how good he felt, filling her better than anyone had before him. She could only let her body speak for her; rolling, arching, lifting to meet his thrusts. Small, purely feminine sounds of pleasure formed in her throat, escaping in high-pitched moans and grunts.

_Holy shit_, was all Tony could think. The noises she was making were driving him mad and his hips began to move faster, erratically. He wanted to drive deep into her, to make her his, ruin her for any other man. It was a weird feeling, to want to possess another person like this, to want to give that person immense pleasure. He was usually only concerned about getting himself off.

"A-Anth…ony…"

"Lokiiii…"

"Mmm…I-I want to ride you, Anthony."

He didn't need to be told that twice—though he purposely made her repeat it just to hear her say it again, before rolling them until she was on top.

She flipped her head back, her black curls flying around her and sat up, dragging her nails down Tony's chest. She smirked and fluffed the skirt so it settled around them both and started to slowly roll her hips. His eyes on hers, Tony slipped his hands under the skirt to grip her hips, moving her faster, impatiently, wanting rougher friction.

Loki grunted softly and wrapped her fingers around his wrists, pulling his hands from her hips and placing them on her breasts. "I'm on top, _amerikan_. So _I_ set the pace."

Tony grinned lopsidedly and focused his attention on massaging her breasts, pushing them together, rolling the nipples between his fingers. She must have been enjoying it because her moans grew loud again, one hand clenched over his on one of her breasts, and her hips began to roll just a little bit faster. His own body broke out in a sweat, thrusting himself up to meet her.

Her pace picked up, moving faster and faster, until her hands fell to bed beside Tony's head, allowing him to fuck into her as hard as he could from his position. "Yes! Yes, oh, gods, yes! I'm gonna come, I'm gonna—nnnh! Harder, harder, hard—aah!"

Tony's breaths came in pants as he watched her ride out her orgasm, still moving into her.

"Oh, my gods…"

Tony pushed himself up, wrapping his arms around Loki when she started to droop, placing open-mouthed kisses across her collarbone. She groaned softly, her hands weakly searched for his face, and upon finding it, raised it to kiss him slowly. Tony hummed softly, blindly looking for the zipper to her skirt. Loki was slim enough that he was able to pull the dark skirt up and over her head. "You all right there, Loki?"

She laughed, but it sounded closer to a moan. "I'm dizzy…from the liquor."

Tony chuckled against one full, slightly sweaty breast. "I bet it's not only the liquor. You're not fading out on me yet, are you, doll face?"

"Ugh…" Loki had rolled her head back and groaned. Looking down at Tony again, she cupped his face for another short, promising kiss. "Don't call me that."

He smirked, running his hands over the backside of her body. "You didn't answer my question…" His eyes on hers, Tony reached between them, between her legs. His lips curved more when her muscles tensed and she gasped softly then sighed sensually.

"I bet you can't do it again," she challenged.

Tony cocked his head. "What? Make you come so hard you scream?"

She bobbed her eyebrows, started moving over him, rising and falling slowly onto his cock again. His arms tightened around her, readying himself to flip her light, curvy body.

"Challenge accepted."


	3. Morning After - Moving In

**A/N: Apologies for that wait! Things were a little hectic around my house this week with 4th of July, my sister coming down from Fresno, and going to the NKOTB concert, so I didn't have a lot of time to get at my laptop. **

**I'm going to try doing a rotation from here on out between my 3 current fics and update in that order. The last I updated was _The Flame_, now this, which means next will be _Ghosts That We Knew_. Let's all hope I can keep up! :)**

**Go forth and read, kids! :)**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

_Gods, it's cold_, Loki thought to herself, curling into a tight little ball. She blindly searched for the covers, tangled around her legs and covering her up to her waist, pulling whatever she could get her hands on up to her chin, burrowing deeper into the bed. She had just settled when something—or some_one_—gave the sheet a sharp tug and Loki opened one green eye.

Slowly, as not to wake whatever she might possibly find behind her, Loki rolled over, onto her back, and faced a full head of dark brunet hair. "Not good," she whispered to herself. A peek down toward her feet, and a quick glance around the room, and Loki realized she wasn't in her own bed; she wasn't even in her own bedroom.

And it all came rushing back. The bar, the whiskey, the guy—Alex…? Aaron…? Anthony!—and the sex. Oh, gods, yes, that was good sex. She giggled, remembering now how many times they had done it through the night, unsure of when exactly they finally gave in to exhaustion. But, damn it! This wasn't _her_. She didn't jump into bed with the first guy who sent her a dashing smile and bought her a few drinks. She made them work for it. Hel, Fandral tried to get her to have sex with him for years before she finally let him take the lid off the honey pot.

Setting one foot on the floor, Loki slinked out of the bed, keeping an eye on the sleeping form that had yet to budge again, and eventually, she was able to roll out. She darted out of the bedroom, picking up her tights, skirt, sweater and coats on the way. But where the Hel was her bra and underwear? Tiptoeing back into the bedroom, Loki looked around, eventually snatching up her bra from just underneath the bed frame on her side, but her panties were still missing.

"Fuck," she muttered, and crept around to the other side, searching the floor, under the bed. And there they were: balled up loosely in his hand. She studied his sleeping face for a beat, thinking how handsome he was. She sucked in a breath and froze as he shifted in his sleep. As soon as he settled again, she carefully reached over to pluck her panties from his fingers. He groaned softly at the brush of her fingers to his palm, but only rolled over and continued to sleep.

Holding her breath again, Loki tiptoed once more back to the other room and quickly dressed, before slipping out of the room, and closing the door as quietly as she could behind her.

Outside, the doorman called her a taxi, and as she waited she noticed a group of reporters waiting outside the doors, cameras of all types and notepads at the ready. She was about to ask why they were there but the cab showed up. Slipping inside, she told the driver where to go and finally breathed a sigh of relief as the taxi headed back to Nelfheim's so she could retrieve her car and drive home.

She took no detours, and though she was starving, she didn't stop for food. She just drove straight home. Once at the apartment, she unlocked the door as quietly as possible and slipped into the two bedroom unit she shared with Natasha. She was sneaking toward her room on tiptoe again, when a gruff voice called out to her and she screamed.

"What? It's me!" Natasha shouted from her spot on the sofa.

Loki clutched at her racing heart. "Gods, Tasha, don't do that! You scared me half to death."

"Me? You're the one sneaking in at…_seven_ in the morning?! Where the hell have you been?" Natasha jumped up, dropping the furry throw covering her legs to the sofa. Loki felt terrible. Her roommate was still in her clothes from the day before.

"I'm so sorry. I ended up—drinking more than I intended to," she lied quickly and easily. "And I, I couldn't very well drive. So I stayed at a nearby hotel for the night."

Natasha stared at her and Loki felt a skittering of panic run up her spine. She knew. Natasha's mouth hung open, her brows drew together. "Are you telling me the truth?"

Loki rolled her eyes. "Of course I am! I'm sorry; I should have called or texted, but I was…not myself last night," she added with a small chuckle. Technically, nothing she had said was a lie. She did, in fact, drink too much and stayed at a nearby hotel. "Now go on to bed. You've classes in a few hours."

"Yeah…you do, too." Loki nodded in agreement as Natasha crossed to her room. She grinned to herself, relieved Natasha seemed to have bought it, and started for her own room again. She hid the jolt well when Natasha surprisingly called her name again. "You didn't call _him_…did you? For like, phone sex or something."

Loki chuckled. "Who?" she asked, completely confused.

"Who? Fandral, who else?"

"Oh. No!" she laughed. "Believe me, Tasha. Fandral was the furthest thing from my mind last night." She giggled softly again, flashes in her mind of Anthony.

"Good. It's about damn time. I think you need to be alone for awhile, hon. No dating, no 'hanging out,' and _no sex_." She emphasized this by aiming a blood red painted finger in her direction. "Just…concentrate on finishing up at school and getting that oh-so-glamorous museum job you'll inevitably get."

Loki sighed but smiled affectionately. "Yes, Dr. Romanov. Do you have any more advice?"

"Yeah, call your fucking roommate when you're gonna be late."

"Won't happen again," she called as Natasha turned her back to her. Her redheaded roommate waved her off and shuffled into her bedroom. The door closed and Loki thought of a chocolate-eyed, goateed man. "Yes. Sadly…it won't happen again."

* * *

Tony swallowed the last of his third whiskey, hissing a little as it slid down his throat. He heard the door to the bar open and quickly looked up, deflating a tad when a big, burly man in a puffy blue vest was the only one who walked in. For six days, after he was done kicking ass and taking names at the expo every night, he came to Nelfheim's. For six days, he sat in a corner of the bar, watching the door, inspecting every person that came in until the bar closed around two in the morning. For six days, he waited for bright green eyes to greet him with that sexy little throaty laugh, tossing silky, black curls over her creamy pale shoulder.

And what did he have to show for waiting those six days? Absolutely nothing.

To say he was disappointed after waking up alone in his bed, after a night of some of the best sex of his life, was putting it mildly. Loki never told him her last name so it wasn't as if he could easily look her up. And a quick search through Jarvis proved it would take more than the six days he would be in town to narrow down the number of people named Loki who lived in Sweden.

Now here he was, his last day in Sweden, and he was going home without a phone number or a repeat performance. He swore lightly under his breath when his phone rang for the umpteenth time since he had sat down. It was Pepper. He blew out a long breath and flicked his thumb across the screen to answer the call and Pepper's image popped up before him. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message."

"_Tony!"_

He threw his head back on a sigh, hating that scolding tone in her voice, and looked at his phone again. "What?"

"_Where are you? You were supposed to be in the air an hour and a half ago."_ He could see the exasperation coloring her cheeks and almost, _almost_, felt bad. She squinted and moved her head around. _"Are you in bar?"_

He lowered his chin and stifled a laugh. "…Maybe."

"_Tony, you have liquor on the plane,"_ she admonished in her best stern voice. He could detect a hint of laughter in it though, and smiled softly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm on my way out."

"_Wait!"_ He had started to get off the stool and stayed put at her command. _"While I've got your attention…" _She smiled and leaned closer to the lens. _"You impressed a lot of people over there this week, Mr. Stark."_

He scoffed, amused at the formal name. "Tell me something I don't know."

Pepper laughed. "Okay. Nyström Technologies wants to talk to you about opening up a Stark Industries division in Stockholm."

Tony stared at the redhead on his phone. "Are you serious?" She nodded excitedly. "Hmm. No shit. Set up a meeting. We'll see where it goes. I'm heading out now. I'll call you back when I get on the plane. See you in a bit, Red." He whistled to get the bartender's attention and handed over his credit card.

Less than an hour later he was on the plane heading back to New York. He should have been relieved but he felt like he was leaving something behind. It was an odd feeling. It was usually so easy to walk away from his one night stands. Telling himself there was nothing he could do to change the situation, Tony resigned himself to the fact that he would never see that gorgeous woman ever again.

He called Pepper back once they had leveled out and started to cruise, pleasantly surprised to find she had, in the time since they last spoke, arranged a meeting with Nyström in a few weeks. They wanted time to give him a proper presentation. Tony almost felt like he was being courted and didn't mind his ass being kissed once in awhile. After Pepper got other business out of the way, so that when Tony landed he didn't have to deal with any of it, he was ready to put the phone aside, turn up the music, and sit back and relax.

Pepper had other plans. _"Aside from the expo, how was the rest of your week?"_

"Cold as hell," he answered, making himself comfortable by reclining back in his seat. "But I was mostly inside so it wasn't too bad. Hotel was good, food was good, drinks were good. All in all, it was a good week."

She made a noise of agreement. _"Did you…do any _thinking_ while you were sleeping in that hotel and eating all that food and drinking all those drinks?"_

Tony was about to ask what she was trying to say, but quickly realized what she meant. He sighed, eyeing her image on the phone. "You really want to do this right now, Red? You don't want to wait until we can talk in person?"

He saw her physically droop a little, yet still her lips curved. _"I'm a big girl, Tony. I can take it. And maybe I want to know what kind of homecoming I should plan."_

He sighed, scratched at his head, and sat up again, leaning his elbows on his knees. In truth, he hadn't really thought about Pepper much all week, or her ultimatum. He was too busy pining—who the fuck _pined_ anymore?—for a woman who could have been a figment of his fucked up imagination, for all he knew. "Don't plan one," was all he said. She got the point.

Her lashes lowered, to hide the tears that pooled there immediately, he assumed. But when she lifted them to the screen again, they were clear, a soft cornflower blue, and dry. "You're sure about that?" she questioned softly, hesitantly. "Because I promise you, Tony, this is it. I'm too old for this back and forth bullshit. Shit or get off the pot, you know what I mean?"

A part of him almost gave in, wanted to tell her she was right, that he was an idiot to pass up being with a woman like her. But it would be a lie. Pepper Potts was really a great woman, but she deserved better than what he could offer her—a lot of material things, sure, but he would never love her as much as she would love him. "I'm sure, Red," he murmured with a soft smile. "Sorry…"

She didn't move or say anything for a minute. Then she blinked, nodded, and went right back to professional Miss Potts. "No worries. I'll leave any messages from the rest of the day on your desk. See you in the morning, Mr. Stark."

He noted there was no joking behind the name this time. "Yeah…I'll see you." The call ended before he barely reached for the 'end' button, and he found himself staring at a dark screen. He called for a scotch and sat back, wishing, not for the first time, that he wasn't such a selfish bastard.

* * *

Tony was immensely relieved that the flight to Sweden this time was smooth and quick. He wasn't nauseous, but he still had Jarvis blast some loud-ass music, Iron Maiden today, just so he didn't have to listen to Pepper rattle on about stock interests for the company or lecture him on behaving himself and learning how to not recklessly spend his money. He would have reminded her anyway about that little matter of being a billionaire, but she still would have lectured him.

He really did consider himself a lucky guy. Not because of the endless funds, the expensive toys he could play with at his whim, or the fact that he could go to any country he wanted whenever he wanted, but because he had managed to land such an amazing assistant. It was no secret that without Pepper Potts running things behind the scenes, mostly, Tony Stark would be lost. She did everything for him—and then some.

As for the lucky part…three months earlier, Tony had effectively ended their years-long, on and off arrangement of occasionally sleeping together; and over the phone, no less. It all worked out, for Pepper, at least. She had been dating an Army captain she met through Rhodey for almost two months now, and things seemed to be going well. Although, Tony did have to suffer through listening to her get all gooey and mushy over the phone with this guy he had yet to meet; like she was doing at the moment.

He was sitting next to her in a rental car driven by Happy, attempting to go over some schematics on his Starkpad, while she giggled and murmured into the phone at her ear, half turned toward the window. The only response he could give was to roll his eyes. The last time he complained about hearing her lovey-dovey shit, Pepper accused him of being jealous because she was in a happy relationship and it wasn't with him. _Couldn't be further from the truth_, he had told her at the time. And it was true. He was actually quite happy for her; he just didn't want to hear about it.

Tony himself hadn't found any new playmates as yet. But then again, since his return from Sweden he hadn't been looking for any, having thrown himself into the possibility of having a Stark Industries division in Stockholm. Those three months of preliminary planning, full of presentations and estimates and all that bullshit, had finally led to a deal to have Stark Industries plant itself in the capital of Sweden. Tony was making this current trip to Stockholm to search available facilities to house the labs and offices and oversee the set up and opening. He decided he would stay for however long it took and brought Pepper along, for a little while, to help him out.

She wasn't happy about it initially, mostly because of Army Boy, and their burgeoning relationship, but eventually she came around. Tony feared that meant G.I. Joe was going to make an appearance at some point, and he would be subjected to even more things he didn't want to hear. It was one thing to hear it when he was the one causing her to make those noises; it was another to know someone else was where he had once been. He really hoped the walls were thick in Sweden. A thought came to him then and he turned to Pepper, nudging her arm. She elbowed him back without looking at him.

"Hey," he whispered, nudging her again, repeatedly. She made that exasperated and annoyed sound females made when they were bothered and slapped his hand away. "Pepper, I need you!" He shouted it intentionally and she turned blazing blue eyes on him.

"Yeah, I guess I do," she said into the phone, making an angry pouty face at him. "Call me later? Oh, yeah…by six hours. I'll call you before I go to bed, okay? Okay. Bye…" She smiled as she said it and waited for him to hang up before pulling the phone from her ear. Once she had, she whipped around to face Tony and socked him in the arm.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"I was on the phone!" she practically growled through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, and on _my_ time, Red! You're not on vacation; you're here to work! Have phone sex on your own damn time!"

She gasped, appalled at the suggestion apparently, and started slapping her hand hard to his arm and leg—whichever she could reach as he flinched away from her—emphasizing her words. "We-were-not-having-phone-sex-you-pervert!"

"Hey! Don't make me turn this car around and get the hose on you two!" Happy shouted over his shoulder. They told him in unison to shut up and looked at each other again. Pepper huffed angrily, resentfully crossing her arms.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

Tony sighed, just as grumpy now. "I want to know about the house." Pepper glared at him for a few long moments before rolling her soft blue eyes and reaching for the black bag she used to carry everything she needed for work, sitting at her feet. She pulled out a red folder and flipped it open on her lap.

"It's five bedrooms, four baths, and sits on a pretty good-sized plot. Here," she shoved a piece of paper at him, which had everything she had just said to him typed below a picture of a huge white and black painted house.

"Is this what it looks like?"

She fixed him with an annoyed look. "No, Tony. It's a dollhouse. Yes, it's what the fucking house looks like!"

"Wow! Language, Red."

"Oh, screw you." She snatched the paper back and slipped it back into its slot in the folder and closed that with a snap.

"Did we buy or are we renting?"

"Bought. I figured you were going to tear into the walls and floors to install Jarvis. We can fix it after we leave and sell it or rent it out, whatever you want. Happy, turn up the heat! I could cut glass back here with these things, for Christ's sake." She glanced down at her quite visible nipples under her thin blouse and bundled her jacket closer, shuddering.

Tony chuckled. "It's a good thing we're not here in the dead of winter. You'd wither away, Sticks. Ow! God damn it, stop that!" Tony rubbed his hand at the spot where Pepper had punched him again. "If I have a bruise, I'm docking your pay."

"You said you were never going to call me that stupid name again!"

"All right, I'm sorry! Maybe if you didn't have—" They both fell silent as the car veered off the road and came to a stop. "What the hell…?" Tony and Pepper exchanged a glance as Happy jumped out from behind the wheel and stalked around to her side.

"Happy—what are you—?"

Tony watched, slack-jawed, as the former boxer yanked open the door and leaned in to unbuckle Pepper's seatbelt, pulled her out and deposited her in the passenger-side front seat, buckling her in again. He slammed the door closed and returned to his seat behind the wheel, silently putting the car back in drive and reentering traffic. Tony snickered quietly to himself.

"Sorry, Happy," Pepper murmured. The rest of the drive remained silent.

* * *

The house was even bigger in person. Tony stared up at it as they all exited the car in awe, craning his neck back and tugging off his sunglasses. "Nice job, Red. You sure know how to pick them."

"Not really," she replied, coming up to his side and looking up as well. "There weren't many houses that fit your specifications. Be glad we found this. Come on, I'm freezing my ass off." She started up the walkway and pulled the keys from her pocket. "How did you survive this for a week?"

Tony followed her in, leaving the door ajar for Happy. "About twenty blankets every night, thermal underwear and a _lot_ of whiskey."

Pepper scoffed and the sound echoed off of the walls in the empty room. "Lush."

Tony froze a few steps into the foyer. "Aw, man. There's no furniture!"

"Tony," Pepper muttered in that annoyed tone she often had. "You're going to tear the house up anyway. Why sully the furniture?" He glared hard at her and she couldn't help but laugh. "Calm down, you big old baby. The furniture is being delivered later today." His face relaxed minutely.

"Oh."

"It's nice," Happy commented softly.

"There's one bedroom downstairs," Pepper said almost absently, studying her papers again. "The rest are upstairs."

"I call master!" Tony shouted running up the steps.

"Hey, I'm the only female! I should have the attached bath!" she shouted up at him. He poked his head over a railing.

"Don't pull the vagina card on me. I'm paying for this; I get dibs." He disappeared but quickly popped his back out. "Leave the downstairs bedroom for the lab. That way I don't bother anyone while I'm working."

Pepper's eyes drifted closed. "Fine," she breathed on a sigh. After Tony disappeared again, she turned to Happy. "Let's get everything inside, settle into our rooms, and let Tony get started on destroying things. Then we'll think about food."

Happy nodded and held the front door open for her. "You got it, boss lady."

* * *

Pepper was ready to kill someone. And that someone was going to be her boss.

They had been in Stockholm for almost two weeks and Tony had been busy tearing the house apart. Jarvis had been installed successfully after a day, but the genius decided he didn't care for the cramped space he had chosen to house his lab in and took a sledgehammer to the wall separating it from the dining room.

Pepper had taken to exploring the city with Happy or spending her days in a café, communicating with the New York offices, and occasionally, her man of the moment, just to be away from all the loud noise and vicious cursing and heavy metal music.

Still, aside from her murderous tendencies, Pepper was glad that she and Tony had come to a place where they were able to put aside any hurt or hard feelings—not that she expected Tony felt any remorse or even missed her. She had known him too long and too well to be fooled into thinking that. She did know that, in his own weird Tony Stark way, he cared about her, maybe even loved her a little. And though it hurt to finally build up the courage to give him an ultimatum—one she had known would inevitably leave her with a broken heart—Pepper could not have been more surprised, or happier, with the way things had developed.

A month after they had officially ended their merry-go-round relationship, Tony had forced her to accompany him to on of Rhodey's benefit dinners. She had expected Tony to call up one of the leggy bimbos he usually enjoyed filling his time between their own trysts with. She couldn't deny she was shocked when he told her he handy been with anybody since his return from his first trip to Sweden. "Busy," he had said. _Bullshit_, she had thought.

Grumbling, Pepper still had pinned up her ginger curls, slipped on a classic little black dress, and put on a smile.

It was halfway through a night of wandering alone through the crows of military personnel—because Tony had chosen to hide somewhere, either with a girl or a bottle of Jack—that she had finally caught up with Rhodey and a friend of his. A very good-looking friend of his.

Captain Steve Rogers was his name. Pepper had had to catch herself from drooling all over him. The man was All-American beautiful; perfectly coifed hair, big bright ocean blue eyes, and he filled out his Army uniform pretty nicely, too.

They had spent the rest of the evening alone, talking about how she knew Rhodey and how much Steve missed being overseas alongside his men. He had served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, but he had been back on American soil for nearly a year.

They chatted and flirted, exchanged numbers, and a few days later, he had called and asked her on a proper date. It was a revelation for Pepper. She had enjoyed her time with Tony. He was unpredictable and reckless, which made him exciting and dangerous; what red-blooded girl could resist that? But, ultimately, he was also self-destructive, suffering from a lifelong case of insomnia, and a workaholic. And, often, he was really only concerned about himself. So being asked so formally on a date, and to have the guy being so attentive on that date—opening doors, pulling out chairs, helping her with her coat—was something Pepper quite enjoyed.

She was riding on cloud nine, at the moment, having just finished talking to her Captain, and getting some business done and headed back to the house.

* * *

Tony's mood was up today. He finished the work on the lab and the dining room, finally. His clothes, arms, and face were splattered with an eggshell white paint, as he and Happy added a second coat to the third wall of the dining room. He could just hear the click of heels under the blasting music and waited to hear that irritation in that sweet voice.

"What the hell is this?" And there it was.

Tony looked at her with a small playful frown. "Jarvis, music." The music lowered. "Do you need a vacation, Red? Is it not clear that we are painting?"

"He's finally finished ripping the place apart," Happy put in, dropping his paint roller back into its pan. He gave a careless shrug when Tony leveled him with a stern look, bothered he didn't let him play his little game with Pepper.

"Well, that happened just in time," Pepper muttered, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Just in time for what?" Tony set down his brush, as well, and slapped his hands together, examining them for paint stains.

"Nyström bigwigs; you're going to be entertaining them for dinner on Friday night."

Tony laughed weakly. "That's a little presumptuous of them, isn't it? Aren't I the guest in this country? Why do I have to host dinner?"

Pepper opened her mouth to respond, pausing as the doorbell interrupted. "I don't know. Maybe there was something lost in the translation. Do you want me to order from a restaurant or hire out staff for the night?" The doorbell rang again and neither man moved to answer it. "Oh, no, let me!" she shouted sarcastically.

"Thanks, hon!" Tony yelled after her. He chuckled at what sounded like a less-than-muffled _son of a_ _bitch_ that followed. "Can you believe they want me to host dinner for them?" Tony questioned Happy, moving to push up the two windows in the room, wondering why neither of them had thought of doing that before.

Happy shrugged, moving to add another layer of paint the wall opposite the one they had just finished. "Maybe that's just how they do things here. Who knows? It'll make you look good though."

"How do you figure?"

"Big, fancy house; big, fancy dinner; wonderfully amusing friends you keep company with…" He smiled widely when Tony rolled his eyes toward him then laughed.

"_Tony, you have a visitor!"_

Tony cocked a brow and he and Happy shared a confused look at Pepper's announcement. "I don't know anybody here! How do I have a visitor?"

"Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?"

Tony spun around at the voice, a short amused laugh bubbling up his throat. "Son of a bitch! Barton, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked, drawing the blond man into a brief, but hard hug.

"I heard you were roaming around these parts," Clint Barton responded. "You're all over the news. And I was on my way back to the States from Thailand and decided to stop by and see what you were up to. Hi, Happy," he gave a short wave to the stocky man. He nodded in greeting. "So, what's going on?"

"Ah…long story. Hey, let's go get a drink, I'll tell you all about it." He started out of the room, guiding his old friend, pausing when Pepper got in their way.

"Tony, we have to discuss the plans for this dinner—"

"It can wait a day, Pep. Hap, you wanna come?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Happy shook his head, but with a smile.

"No, go ahead. I'll finish up here."

"Thanks, buddy." Tony snapped his fingers and aimed his finger and a wink at him. "How long you gonna stick around? You got any bags with you?"

"I don't know yet. I got a big duffle, left it by the door. Why?"

"Leave it there. We've got an extra room you can stay in. Let's go."

"Tony."

"Pepper, no one's gonna use it," he rushed to say before Pepper could argue. "Chill. We'll see you later." Not caring that he was still covered in paint, Tony led Clint back outside to his rented Saab, and headed out.

On the drive, they caught up quickly. Clint and Tony had randomly met in a bar during one of Tony's benders. They had partied together for three days straight and remained friends ever since, even as Clint bopped around the globe, training actors and stuntmen in the art of archery for films and television shows. He had just finished working on a big-budget film, the second in a trilogy, and had some down time before having to return to California for the next film.

Tony drove him to the only bar in town he knew of: Nelfheim's. And if he was hoping he might run into a familiar face while having a drink or two, he would never admit it.

He parked them at the bar, strategically giving himself a direct view of the entrance and ordered up a couple of drinks. He spoke of the new Swedish division and invited Clint to the supposed dinner he would be hosting in a few short days.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

Tony's brows rose high at Clint's question. "Huh?"

"You keep looking at the door every time someone comes in. Are you expecting someone to walk through that door?"

For a second, Tony considered telling Clint the whole story—the woman, the drinks, the hotel…the night of amazing, mind-blowing, orgasmic sex. "Nah, I don't know anyone here." He pushed thoughts of that pretty little lady, whose name he felt had been tattooed on his brain, to the back of his mind, like he had been doing for months now, and intended to enjoy this surprise reunion with an old friend.


	4. Fifteen Weeks

**A/N: Hello, lovely readers! Anyone else as exhausted from seeing all the Comic Con stuff on Tom as I am? And I watched most of it from a car or on a bed! lol**

**Anyhoo...we won't be meeting Loki's family until the next chapter, but she does mention their names here. And, just a reminder, I'm twisting around the mythology a little. Thor and Baldur are both older than Loki here, but their names remain the same. However, on the other side (we won't meet that side until later), Helblindi and Byleistr are both younger than her (in their upper teens), and they have modernized names; Lindy and Lester, respectively (yes, Lindy is an actual name). I figured I could get away with Thor and Baldur in a modern setting, but Helblindi and Byleistr were a little more unconvincing.**

**So, that's that. Any questions/comments/reviews/whatever send them my way! Enjoy!**

**XOXO,**  
**LaLa**

* * *

Few things in life fazed Loki Odinsdottir. She grew up in a house with a domineering father and two big brothers whose presences were always felt and their way was always had. And as domineering as her father was, her mother was still just as strong-willed, if quiet about it. Still, she learned at a young age that things rarely, if ever, went your way in life. Particularly, if you were a female.

She had hoped when she found her birth family that perhaps things would be a little different. But they weren't. Sure, Laufey was _slightly_ more evolved than Odin. But her younger brothers, Lindy and Lester, were just as rambunctious and overprotective as Thor and Baldur.

Because of her big brothers' penchant for picking on her and making her life hell—something the younger ones enjoyed, as well, she found out later—Loki had become an expert at dealing with surprises, accidents, and the overall unexpected. But there were some things one just couldn't prepare oneself for.

Getting knocked up by a one-night stand was definitely one of those things.

It took just five weeks for Loki to realize she was pregnant. A home pregnancy test and a doctor's appointment only confirmed what she already knew was true. For days, she went about her life in a daze, her mind working every single possible scenario she could imagine. And in every single one of those scenarios, her father found a way to murder her.

She hadn't yet told anyone, except for Natasha. And she had only revealed her secret to her best friend because the redhead had tried to force her to eat something that smelled disgusting, made Loki immediately nauseous and run for the nearest toilet. Thankfully, Natasha was more upset about Loki lying to her about her whereabouts that night than the impending pregnancy.

Loki had weighed her options; she knew what choices were available to her, and she had made a decision that she was happy with. Then life decided to throw her one more curveball.

While on a break in the campus cafeteria one day, Loki was nibbling on a few saltine crackers and sipping on some ginger ale, flipping through a book on the craftwork of the American Hopi Indian, when she happened to glance up at one of the scattered televisions in the large room, and saw Anthony's face. Confused at first, she gathered her tray to take to the waste bin situated just under a monitor. The volume was lowered, but there across the bottom of the screen, flashing before her eyes in bright, bold letters was his name. Tony fucking Stark. She had dropped the tray, grabbed her workbook and fled.

Now, a week later, here she was, pulling her car to a stop in front of the large white house that supposedly Anthony was staying in. She groaned softly as she headed up the walkway to the door. Every time she thought of him, the fact that he was one of the most intelligent and widely known men on the planet, that she was so wrapped up in her own shit—and, yes, goddamn it, horny as hell and intent on getting laid—that she didn't even recognize who he was, she cringed on the inside.

Loki didn't often feel nervous; it was more excitement she always felt. But nervous was really the only thing a woman could feel when she was about to tell a man they had created a tiny human being together.

"Oh, gods, I'm going to be sick," she muttered to herself, pressing a palm to her fluttering belly. "All right," she inhaled, letting the air out on a long breath. And rang the doorbell.

She steeled herself for seeing Anthony again. There was that embarrassment again. She could feel it coloring her cheeks. She scolded herself, told herself to stop behaving like a teenage girl, and straightened as the door flew open. She stared at the blond man, frowning, for a moment, before pulling the piece of paper with the address and directions on it, studying it and the numbers on the house.

"Hey, beautiful, you lost?"

Loki chuckled weakly and sent him a half-smile. "I'm sorry. I must have the wrong house."

"Uh, wait…" The man put one foot out of the house and she could feel his fingers brush the arm of her sleeve. "Sorry." He backed up again, presumably because of the look she was currently giving him. "This isn't my place, so why don't you tell me who you're looking for?"

Loki relaxed a little, but her stomach was still jumpy. "I'm looking for Anthony—I mean, Tony. Tony Stark."

"Oh. Of course, you are," he muttered between his teeth. She assumed he didn't mean for her to hear that, but he ignored that she had anyway. "You're in the right spot. Come on in." He stepped back inside and widened the door. Loki hesitated, pursing her lips. "I'm not lying, if that's what you're thinking. He's just in the back, in the kitchen. Come on."

"I have pepper spray," she stated boldly and marched in, stopping in the foyer as the man closed the door behind her, chuckling good-naturedly.

"I have no doubt. I'm Clint, by the way. Clint Barton." He thrust his hand out at her and Loki looked at it, noticing the various whitened-over scars and barely healed scrapes on his knuckles and fingers. "I'm an old friend of Tony's."

Loki smiled softly and shook his hand. "It's lovely to meet you."

"Likewise. Tony!"

She jumped a little at his shout and let her eyes wander around the large space. It looked even bigger inside than it had from the outside, with a grand staircase leading up to the second floor, and a glass chandelier hanging over their heads that must have looked spectacular at night.

"So how do you know Tony?"

"I, uh…we spent some time together on his last trip out here."

"Oh…" He nodded, and Loki got the distinct feeling he knew exactly what she meant by them spending time together, and the small smile told her she wasn't the first to fall for Tony's smooth moves. "So, what's your name?"

She blanked for a minute, thinking she had already told him, and laughed, pressing her fingers to her forehead. She was getting so forgetful these days. "I'm sorry. How rude of me. My name is—"

"Loki…?"

Clint and Loki turned as Tony came to a stop at the end of the entryway, two glasses of something amber in both of his hands. Seeing him again sent a slow wave of pleasure coursing through her and she smiled warmly at him. _He remembered…_, she thought to herself. At least she thought she had. The way Clint's head turned sharply to look down at her, said he heard her. She just continued to smile.

"Holy shit, what are you doing here?" Tony rushing closer to them. One of his drinks had spilled over onto his thumb and he brought it to his mouth to suck up the liquid.

Loki chuckled at his excitement, apparently at seeing her. "I, I heard you were in town, so..." She glanced briefly at Clint. "Could I speak to you in private?"

"Uh, yeah, of course, no problem. Barton, beat it," Tony ordered, jerking his head back with it. Clint scoffed and looked between the two.

"Fine, but give me my drink." He reached for it and Tony drew it from his reach then shoved it at Loki.

"No. It's for my guest. Go make your own."

Loki held the glass in her hand, taken aback for a moment, then brought the glass to her nose to sniff at it as Clint and Tony playfully argued. The strong whiff of alcohol hit her like a slap in the face and she had to control her strong urge to vomit, even coughing a little, drawing Tony's attention as his friend left the room.

"Are you okay?" He touched a hand to her upper arm, and instinctively, Loki moved away from his touch.

"I'm fine. May I sit?" She moved to the sitting area right next to the entryway, not waiting for his answer, and set the glass on the coffee table. She swallowed back the nasty taste in her mouth and looked up at Tony as he joined her. She smiled nervously as he chose to sit on the coffee table in front of her instead of a chair and handed her the glass again.

"I'm so glad you're here. What _are_ you doing here? How did you know I was in town? How did you know where I was staying? I'm sorry; I don't mean to be bombarding you with questions." Loki let out an anxious chuckle as he laughed. "It's just…I never thought I'd see you again. So this is…this is a nice surprise."

"Ha…I'm glad you think so."

"So, really, how did you know I was here?"

"Oh…I saw—uh, there was a news piece about you. You could imagine my embarrassment when I saw the face of the last man I was intimate with on the television. And that he turned out to be Tony Stark."

Tony chuckled lightly, sipped from his drink. "It felt rude to inform you at the bar."

She nodded like she agreed, but who knew how that bit of information would have changed the ensuing evening. She looked down at the glass, her fingers gripped around it tightly, and forced herself to hurry and explain. "Anyway, I have a close friend who works for the city and found out some information, leading me here, through them."

"Ah, resourceful," he chuckled.

She smiled again at his quiet chuckling and it grew quiet between them. She went over all the different ways she could start the conversation in her mind, but for some reason, she couldn't get her mouth to work. When Tony spoke again, her mind went blank.

"I waited for you, you know."

Loki looked up to meet his gaze, one brow furrowing as the other lifted. That was an interesting statement. "What do you mean…you waited?"

Tony leaned forward, his lips still quirked up in that sexy little grin, resting his elbows on his knees. "I went back to that bar every night that whole week, hoping you would come walking into my life again."

Her chin lifted enough to have her looking down at him. "One night wasn't enough for you?" she asked softly, immediately berating herself for flirting, even mildly, with the man after only seeing him again for five minutes.

His smile was slow and sent a shiver down Loki's spine. "Not nearly, sweetheart. But I would've settled for another drink or a phone number, which is a first for me."

She huffed out a short laugh, setting her jaw. "Should I be flattered by that?"

"Yeah, you should! I never usually want a repeat performance."

Annoyed with his audacity, and the fact that she found it attractive, Loki got to her feet and moved away from him, putting a cushy, padded chair between them. "Why is it do you think I've come looking for you, Anthony?"

Tony drank from his glass again, rotating on the table so he faced her, and shrugged his shoulders. "You just said that I was the last one you were intimate with. That was like three months ago. I'm guessing it would take that drink in your hand, maybe a few more, and we could have ourselves another good night."

Loki simply held him with her gaze for a long beat. Finally, she moved around the chair and held the drink out to Tony. "You may need this in a moment."

"Why?" Tony laughed and stood, standing just an inch above Loki, a cocky smile curving his lips. "I'm good with mine."

Loki fixed him with her bright green eyes, trying hard to ignore the little butterflies she felt looking into his dark hazel ones, and smirked. "I'm pregnant."

The smile disappeared first. Then he chuckled, but it sound off and high-pitched. "That's—that's funny. You're a funny girl." Tony reached up a hand, as he spoke, and tugged at his collar.

Enjoying seeing the consummate professional coming a little undone a bit more than she should, Loki cocked a brow. "I've not made a joke. I am pregnant and you are the father."

Tony's face fell and he stepped back from Loki, swallowing down the rest of his drink in one swoop. He dropped the glass to the chair beside him and stepped forward to snatch the other from Loki's hand and brought it up to his mouth. He gulped that one down, his eyes shooting between Loki's face and her still flat belly. He gasped for air once he finished that drink and wagged a finger at her slim figure. "You don't look p…pre…" He inhaled deeply, shakily. "You don't look it."

She planted her hands on those shapely hips, her unpainted pale red lips in a tight line. "Rest assured; I am nearly fifteen weeks." She saw one of his eyes narrow and huffed out a sharp breath. "Calculate all you want! The numbers will still add up to _you_."

He sighed and lowered to the arm of the sofa just behind him. "No, you're right; it adds up," he said flatly.

Loki smiled sarcastically, a surge of irritation making her blood boil. "Look, you've no need to worry about anything. I shall take care of it."

"Oh, praise Jesus!" Tony threw up his hands as he stood from the sofa then suddenly drew up short. "Or wait, what do you pray to here? I don't even pray to Jesus. I don't pray. I don't believe in…" He paused, tilting his head, at the horrified look on Loki's face. "What?"

Slowly, her head began to move from side to side. "I am _not_ having an abortion."

Tony's brow furrowed. "B-but you said—"

"That I was going to take care of it," she finished, her teeth nearly clenched. "I am going to take care of the _child_."

"By yourself…?"

Loki silently fumed. Another man who didn't believe she was capable of doing anything. Was the whole planet full of chauvinistic, misogynistic assholes? She crossed her arms, ignoring the fact that the move jostled her tender breasts. "I am perfectly capable."

"No, I didn't mean—I'm sure you're more than capable. I just thought…" He moved a little closer, ducking his head so his mouth was near her ear, but made sure not to touch her. "Wouldn't it be easier to just…not have it?"

Narrowed, darkened green eyes slide up to Tony's face. "Easier for whom?" she asked in a tight, controlled voice.

Tony's mouth fell open, perhaps realizing his error. "Loki." He reached for her, but she quickly stepped away and he snatched back his hands.

"You've no need to concern yourself, Anthony. I am not here to ask you for anything. I want neither your money nor your name. Frankly, after this meeting, I don't want you involved in any capacity whatsoever." A little part of her felt some glee at the hurt look that flashed across Tony's face. "But I felt it was only right for me to come and inform you that I am pregnant and that it is yours. I've done so. I will leave now."

"No, Loki, please wait—" He grabbed for her as she turned to walk away and she whipped around, jerking out of his reach.

"And why should I? I'm giving you the out you want, Anthony."

"Oh, come on, Loki, that's not fair. I—"

"Fair?" Her rising voice echoed off the walls of the foyer. "Do you think _any_ of this is fair for _me_?"

"Tony, what are you doing out—oh, I'm sorry."

Loki stared at the redhead that nearly skidded to a halt in the entryway, with Clint close behind. The blond man frowned, his blue eyes studying both her and Tony. She shoved Tony back and stepped away from him.

"What, Pepper?" Tony snapped, turning his back to Loki to face her.

"Tony…you have guests, in case you've forgotten." Her soft blue eyes kept flicking to Loki and Loki was ready to scream. "I need you to come back to the table and—"

"I'll go when I'm good and ready," he shouted.

"Tony." Her tone was laced with surprise and a light warning. She looked at Loki again and frowned. "Who is that?" She aimed a finger at Loki and asked the question under her breath as if Loki couldn't hear her if she didn't say it loudly.

"That's Loki," Clint offered.

"Who the hell is Loki?" she asked through clamped teeth, shifting her body toward Clint.

Tony started to answer but Loki cut him off. "You know what? I'm nobody. Don't concern yourself. And you," she shoved Tony and he gasped softly in shock as he faced her. "Stay away from me."

Loki could hear him calling after her, the woman calling after him, but she forced her legs to take her as quickly as they could possible carry her to her car, jumped in, and drove to the only place she could think would calm her now.

* * *

Tony could've throttled Pepper for choosing that moment to burst into the room. His life had just had a major wrench thrown into it; it had literally come to a complete and utter stop and she chose _now_ to butt in?

There were a lot of things Tony was absentminded about. Maybe he might forget to do the laundry from time to time. But that's what maids were for. And, yes, he skipped meals more often than he ate full ones. But he was more healthy than a man who lived off a diet of alcohol, fruit snacks, and the occasionally cigarette should be.

But one thing he _never_ forgot, one thing he always made sure to be responsible about, obsessively so, was practicing safe sex.

He had a reputation as a playboy that he lived up to; had _been_ living up to since he was a fifteen year old college kid, chasing after coeds. He wasn't the type for relationships and he was usually very upfront about that with the women he entertained. And he still wasn't sure why Loki Odinsdottir made him want to change that after one night together.

But that was another matter altogether.

Tony was a walking pharmacy when it came to protection. He never went anywhere without a few condoms within reach. He got himself tested every month—the one doctor's appointment he never ditched out on. And, though it might not seem like it to the general public and the gossip rags who liked to keep close tabs on his private life, Tony was actually quite picky about who he chose to grace with the blessing hidden in his pants.

So how in the hell, after nearly twenty years of not one scare, did one of his guys break through that sacred latex—or sometimes sheepskin—barrier?

Getting a woman pregnant was one thing—a scary-ass, gray-hair-making thing. But having that woman tell him she wanted to keep it, and raise it alone, without him, was quite another.

Still, Tony was thoroughly freaked. This was the stuff his nightmares were made of. No one on this planet would ever think Tony Stark would make a good father. Tony Stark himself never once entertained the thought. He didn't exactly have the greatest role model in a father.

Howard Stark was far too concerned with grooming his only son and heir to take over the family business to actually give a crap about him when he was a child. As soon as he could, he shipped Tony off to boarding school then to college. Even now, though Tony was an adult and Howard himself was retired, he didn't show any interest in his son's life—particularly, if it didn't have anything to do with Stark Industries.

And if Tony knew anything about Howard—which was really rather nothing at all—the senior Stark was going to lose his shit when he heard about this.

Tony's mind was racing, thoughts bouncing off in every which direction. He thought of how he might get a paternity test—he completely believed Loki, but he knew Howard would demand it, if only to keep in his own personal records. He thought of when he would tell Howard and Maria. He honestly didn't know his parents well enough to gauge what their reactions would be. But from what he did know, neither would be excited about being made grandparents, though they were parents to a near middle-aged son.

_Fuck_. He was going to be a father.

And Pepper was hounding him about some goddamn business dinner? _She doesn't know_, he had to remind himself. Goddamn Barton wasn't helping the situation either, actually making it worse.

Then Loki was shoving him around, and he was genuinely surprised at her strength. _Stay away from me_. What the hell?

"Loki—no, wait—"

"Tony, let her go. Who is she anyway?"

He rounded on Pepper, ready to scream, but he had to go after Loki. He couldn't leave the situation like this. He may not be prepared for it, but he wasn't about to let her make the decisions _for_ him. "She's…none of your damn business!"

Clint's jaw dropped comically and he practically chortled to himself in the corner, as Tony stomped out of the room, only to march in again seconds later, the keyring holding his car, house, and lab keys jingling in his hand.

"Where do you think you're going? Tony!"

"What, Pepper?" He yelled, stopping with the door half open. "I don't have time to listen to you scream at me, okay?"

Pepper's heels clicked quickly on the tile again, like a panicked little drum beat, as she rushed up to him. "What am I supposed to do with the shareholders in your dining room?" she asked in a harsh whisper, as if the men and their wives would hear her.

Shit, one more thing to think about. "Ah, I don't know…just…" An idea came to him. "Just tell them I…," he laughed, but it had no trace of humor to it. "Tell them I had a family emergency."

He ran out the door before Pepper could stop him and spotted Loki's green Volvo—and had to stop himself from listing it's amenities and the parts of its engine—as she slammed on the gas and screeched off. The tires of his own Saab skidded on the gravel as he sped out of the driveway after her.

Tony was several cars behind her, but thankfully she was in the lone green car and he was able to keep a keen eye on her. Unfortunately, he got stuck at a light and she raced off ahead of him. The light changed quickly and Tony's foot slammed down on the gas pedal. He made a guess as to where Loki may have turned and was lucky enough to spot her driving down a long stretch of highway.

He followed the small green SUV and she got ahead of him again because a slow-as-fucking-paint-drying asshole got in front of him. He tried to maneuver around but the distance between them was growing wider and wider. She turned off the highway and Tony nearly missed the exit himself. He was waiting for other cars to pass and spotted Loki turn down a road behind a train station. When he finally was able to turn and start down the same road.

It was long and thin, and surrounded by grassy areas on both sides. The green car was nowhere to be found but he kept driving anyway, looking amongst the trees on either side of the road. He saw a glint of green and slammed on the brakes.

Tony shut down the engine, jumped out of the car and sprinted to Loki's, but it was empty. He looked around, cursing all the leafy trees that surrounded him, and finally spotted a figure near a bigger one just beside the lake.

It was there Tony found Loki sitting on a large extended branch of the tree over the calm lake. His heart raced from the urgency, but a mild panic skittered up his spine. "Loki. Don't do it."

She turned a little, her head whipping around to look down at him and glared before rolling her eyes. "Go away, Stark."

Tony continued forward slowly, not wanting to startle her. "Loki, look, we can figure this out, okay? There's no need to jump."

She scoffed and settled back on her hands. "I'm not going to jump, you idiot. Though, I might consider throwing _you_ in the water. It might do well to shrink that big head of yours."

He frowned at her response and stepped closer, examining the tree to figure out how she climbed it. He looked up and noticed for the first time how formally she was dressed; in a business skirt and blazer, her slim legs covered in sheer black stockings. Hesitantly, because he was still in one of his nice suits from the dinner, he set a Ralph Lauren-clad foot up on one of the lower branches and hoisted himself up to another, just below the one Loki sat atop. "What is this place?"

She glared at him again, probably because his voice was closer, then turned away to look out at the lake again. "It's a nature reserve. It helps me think. It is peaceful." She barely glanced his way. "It _was_ peaceful."

Tony grinned at her sassiness then grew serious. "Why'd you leave like that? I didn't think we were done talking."

Her eyes slid toward him again, but she didn't turn her body to really look at him. "You looked busy," she answered tightly. "Besides, _I_ was done. With you, anyway," she belatedly muttered.

He didn't like the sound of that, so he moved closer tentatively, intending to move up next to her.

"Why did you come after me?"

He paused, looked up at her, squinting a little at the lowering sun streaming through the leaves, and shrugged. "I guess I'm not done with _you_," he answered nonchalantly.

She was silent for a beat before letting out a reluctant-sounding laugh.

Tony smiled a little at her laughter and once it had gone quiet again, he asked softly, "Loki…are you sure…about doing this alone? _Can_ you do this? It's not that I don't think you can, I just—"

"I can do anything I want," she said firmly, turning sharply to look at him. "It's not an ideal situation, I will grant you that. But I will be done with the Master's program before the baby comes. And…my father won't like it, but I will keep this baby and raise him or her on my own. And the rest of my family will hopefully be there to help me."

His brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't your father like it?"

Her face seemed to turn sad for a moment—so quick Tony thought he may have imagined it—and she turned away again. "He often doesn't care for the things I do. I've just turned twenty-six years old and I'm not married nor do I have a pack of whiny, bratty kids already." She sighed heavily, staring blankly out at the lake again. "…Like a good girl is supposed to."

"That's sexist."

That's my father."

"You seem to have done a pretty good job of taking care of yourself so far."

She shrugged again, and the way she lowered her head, looking away from him, Tony thought she must have been near tears. But when she spoke her voice was clear. "I'm the only girl in my family, so they're all very overprotective."

_That must be nice_. "Better than no one caring at all," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" He shook his head, not wanting to repeat it. "Their overbearing ways are why I came to Stockholm for university in the first place. I'm far enough away that I don't have to deal with them, but still close enough to visit."

Tony went quiet, unsure of what he should do or say next, and wondered where it was her family resided. He looked up when she raised her arm to check the time and swore under breath. He stepped to the side when she spun her legs around to climb down. He wanted to move in to help her, but he figured she would only snap at him. But when he thought of her falling and hurting herself or the baby, he scrambled down to the bottom and reached up to help her.

Loki stared at him for a second before allowing him to help. He gripped her by the hips and guided her to the ground, still holding her close even when she had settled. "…You can let go of me now."

Tony liked the feel of her there, pressed up against him, and reluctantly, he let her go. "Sorry," he said, stepping back.

"Thanks." Loki brushed the butt and back of her skirt, checked her watch again. "Shit. I'm running late."

"Where are you going?" She stopped and fixed him with a hard look. "What?"

"What makes you think that's any of your business?"

He laughed, despite the dark look on her face. "You're carrying precious cargo, Loki. And half of it belongs to me."

She pressed her hands protectively to her belly, then immediately relaxed again. "I'm flying to Norway to see my family for dinner, just like I do every Friday night. Usually," she added with a shrug of one shoulder.

He cocked a brow.

"I've missed the last few. Or...six," she grinned a little, twisting her lips. She turned to leave, and struck by the thought that he might not see her again if she did—and his sudden realization that he did want to see her again—Tony impulsively reached for her arm.

"Can I come?"

Loki froze and looked first at his hand on her arm then his face. She looked flabbergasted. "Wh-what…wh-why?

He stuttered a little, chuckled at himself, and shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

Loki crossed her arms and cocked a brow. "Don't you have guests at your home? Isn't that what your red headed girlfriend was going on about?"

He smirked at the statement laced with jealousy. "Assistant, not girlfriend," he corrected. She only gave him a look that said she didn't entirely believe him. "Besides, I think I'd like to meet your family…even if this is the only time I do." He made the decision, then and there, that it wouldn't be.

She looked away, toward the lake again, and Tony looked at it as well, wondering what magical powers it must hold that she kept looking to it like an advisor. "That might actually be a good idea," she finally stated, "you meeting them." She looked at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she stared at him. "Then I can say they met you at least once."

Tony did his best to hold his big smile in.

"The flight back will be late tonight. I hope that's not a problem."

He snapped his finger and moved closer. "Tell you what. Cancel your flight. I've got a private jet. We can fly over and fly back whenever."

Her brows lifted at the mention of the private jet and remained above her incredulous eyes. "Of course, you have a private jet," she muttered sarcastically. Tony watched her, his lips quirking as she thought it over. "You really don't mind?"

"No!" He mentally kicked himself for letting his excitement at spending an evening with the unreachable Loki escape in a shouted word. "No. I don't mind. A quick call on the way to the airport and we'll be up in the air like that." He snapped his fingers again.

Loki stared at him unmoving for a moment, and he thought he could actually see her mind working; probably wondering if she should allow him to meet her family. "Fine, let's go. It's not as if things could be much worse."

Tony let her walk ahead, grinning victoriously to himself before turning and following her out of the reserve.

* * *

She had to be crazy. Nearly four months in and this pregnancy was doing a number on her brain. She hadn't seen her family in weeks; too afraid if she did, someone would be able to tell there was a tiny human being inside her, literally sucking the life out of her at the moment. Then again no one really paid attention to anything she did unless Odin was berating her about it.

She led Tony to the airport, where in fact a very stylish business jet was waiting for them. She was a little shocked by how fast everything was moving, and absently allowed Tony to take her hand to lead her up the short staircase and onto the plane. It was once they were in the air that Tony decided to start talking to her.

"Do you really have dinner with your family every Friday night?" he asked settling into the cushiony seat across from her, crossing one leg over the other.

"Mm-hmm, barring any pressing school projects, I usually spend all weekend at home. Arrive Friday, leave Sunday."

"_Every_ weekend?" He paused in the rolling up of his shirt sleeves to ask the question.

Loki angled her head, chuckled a little. "Is that not normal where you're from?"

"No-o-o. Holidays, for sure. Birthdays, maybe. But weekends? I usually work through weekends."

A part of her felt sad for him. Another part wondered how a child would ever fit into his lifestyle. "Do you not enjoy your parents' company?"

He made a noncommittal noise in his throat. "They have their moments, but I don't really know them all that well."

She felt her jaw drop open and quickly tried to cover it. "I'm sorry?"

He chuckled. "I spent most of my childhood in boarding schools. And I started college at fifteen."

"Oh, that's right. Genius." She said the word with feigned excitement, wiggling her fingers at him.

Tony smiled a little. "How do you want to do this?"

She went still and her heartbeat picked up a little. "Do what?"

"With your family… How should we tell them we met…?"

"Oh. Oh! Um, well, for starters, let's not tell them that I met you in a bar, got drunk, and went back to your hotel with you."

"Damn. That was my favorite part." He smirked at her annoyed face. "I'm kidding. No bar, not hotel."

"Just act as if we've been dating for a few months and we'll go from there."

"All right. Well, if were gonna pass as a couple, maybe you should tell me a little bit about yourself. You know? So we don't look like total strangers."

Loki sighed and nodded, shifting in the seat, crossing her legs after pulling off her heeled boots. "Yes, you're right."

"Always," he agreed. "Tell me about you, Loki."

She smiled. It was either his smile or the plane that made her stomach do that weird pitch. And she hoped it was the plane. "Well…I am a student at Stockholm University, working on my Master's in Art History. I also do a little art on the side. When I finish I hope to find a big, metropolitan museum to work in. Or become a world famous painter. Either one will suit."

Tony smiled wider, and she had to drop her gaze.

"I have four brothers. The two you're meeting tonight are my older brothers, Thor, the oldest, and Baldur, but we just call him _Mørk_. It means 'dark one.' He's not dark; he's just got darker hair than Thor. Anyway, the two on the other side are my younger brothers, Lindy and Lester."

"I'm sorry; the other side? Are your parents divorced?"

Loki chuckled genuinely, for the first time in at least an hour. "No. I'm adopted." His face fell and she tried not to let it bother her. "It was nothing tragic, I promise. My birth parents were teens when I was born. And my parents, Odin and Frigga, adopted me when I just days old. Usually when I go home, I visit both families."

"So you…know you're birth family?"

"Oh, yes. I found them when I was thirteen."

"Wow."

The subject was making her uncomfortable, for some reason, so Loki decided to quickly move on. "We have friends over regularly for Friday night dinner. They're usually Thor's friends. He's been friends with them since they were children. He's also been married for almost five years now to a wonderful woman named, Sif." She smiled with her next sentence, "And they just had a baby a few months ago; a beautiful little boy they named after me."

Tony quirked up a brow and grinned. "Loki can be a boy's name?"

She lifted one shoulder. "Why shouldn't it be? Tony can, can it not?"

He scoffed. "I thought Tony was too American."

"It is!" She said it on a laugh then quieted again. "Do you mind that I call you Anthony?"

"No." His eyes fixed on her. "I kind of like it."

Loki felt herself blush. "Anyway, I live in Stockholm with my best friend Natasha, who is also an American." Tony nodded. "I think that's all the important stuff."

"Am I going to be able to understand everyone?"

"Mostly, yes," she answered on a chuckle. "We've spoken a lot more English since Sif joined the family. She was born in Norway, but educated in England. Norwegian will slip in here and there, once in awhile, but it shouldn't be a problem."

"So you'll tell me if they call me an asshole or something?"

She laughed again. "Perhaps," she said with a little shrug. They both went still at a slight dip the plane made, and she groaned, pressing a hand to her belly.

"…Loki? Are you okay?"

She shook her head vigorously. "I'm gonna be sick." She pressed a hand to her mouth, jumped up and sprinted for the bathroom. And spent the rest of the flight kneeling over the toilet.


	5. It's Always Easier for Boys

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY. That's really all I can say. Life, school, and too many things I want to write going on in my head to stop and focus on one. Doing my best and if you're sticking around thank you very much! :)**

**XOXO, LaLa**

* * *

Tony was watching Loki like a hawk. Every bump or sharp turn the cab they rode in to her parents' home took, he would ask if she was nauseous or if she felt like she would be sick again. He asked to the point that she finally snapped and told him if he asked her anything one more time she would push him out the door, while it was moving.

He didn't know where this sudden urge to make sure she was okay came from. Mostly he thought it was just his need to never again hear her vomit. That was never an attractive sound; he even hated hearing himself do it, on the rare occasion he drank to the point where he was praying to the porcelain god. He congratulated himself for keeping a stash of extra toiletries on the plane so she was able to rinse out her mouth and brush her teeth afterward.

To lighten the mood, he reminded her of the last time they were in a taxi, with a wink and a smile. She fixed him with a glare that would have killed him if he were he a weaker man. But judging by the grin that came with it, he was still succeeding at winning her over. The house they pulled up to was big and cozy, and right out of a picture book. A white picket fence, navy blue trim, matching window shutters and all. Small mounds of snow littered the large lawn and melting icicles hung from the eaves. Tony helped Loki out of the taxi then paid the driver. When he turned away from the departing cab, she had yet to move.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"He's going to disown me," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the house and glistening, but not filling with tears.

"Who will?"

"My father…"

Tony said nothing, more because he didn't want to say something wrong and upset her even more, than anything. Loki sighed and started forward, reaching out for the latch on the gate, but Tony stopped her with a hand cupped lightly around her elbow.

"What?"

"I just have a few more questions." She turned a little more and he dropped his hand. "What's your dad like? Is he a big dude? Has he ever liked any your boyfriends?"

Loki stared blankly at him for a moment. "He…isn't what you would call big or muscular. Nor is he small. More…stocky, but…he has a presence; he can be intimidating. And, uh, he's only ever met _one_ of my boyfriends and…he has known him since he was a boy, so liking him wasn't an issue."

"Great," Tony dead panned in a flat tone. "It's looking better and better for me. What's your last name?"

"Oh, pfft," she flubbed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Gods, this baby is eating my brain. My name is Odinsdottir, Loki Odinsdottir."

He blinked and frowned slightly. "Are you serious?"

Loki grinned. "Yes. Do you have another question?"

Tony swallowed back his laugh and set his eyes on hers. "How does your family feel about…PDAs?"

Her brows drew together but she grinned softly. "What?"

"You want us to look like a couple, Loki. Now, admittedly, I don't have a lot of experience with this, but having observed some from time to time, aren't they pretty handsy in the early stages…which we would technically be in."

He knew she understood when her brow smoothed and her cheeks flushed a pretty pink. Loki cleared her throat and chuckled anxiously. "We should probably keep it light. Uh, you may hold my hand, if you like, or…put your arm around me, but, um, try to not be too touchy, especially around the hip and…ahem, backside areas."

Tony smiled and breathed a laugh out through his nose, clearing his throat to hide it. "And what about…kissing?" he asked, inching closer.

Loki didn't budge from her spot, and by the way she lifted her chin, she was trying to prove a point—to him or to herself was debatable. "Sorry, lover boy. No kissing in front of the family."

Tony's gaze was transfixed on that supple little mouth as Loki spoke, and he belatedly saw her reach for the gate latch again. She had just pulled it open before he snapped out of his trance. "Let me get this out of my system then."

His fingers wrapped possessively around her upper arm, and he yanked her up against his chest, covering her mouth with his. He had meant to make it a quick, hard, but promising kiss; he expected her to protest a little. But once his lips were on hers, she softened almost immediately, moaning softly as she willingly parted them for him, even teasing his tongue lightly with her own. Images of their night together flashed behind his eyes and his fingers slid down to her hips, digging into the material of her skirt there.

"Mm," Loki hummed against his mouth, her hands dropped down to cover his. "M-my…you're going to wrinkle it," she breathed shakily, her breath fanning over his face.

Tony swallowed and gulped in a deep breath of air. "Yeah…okay." He faintly heard the sound of a door opening and Loki took only one step away from him, glancing at the house.

"For anything that happens or is said to you tonight…I'm sorry in advance." Tony made a questioning face, but lost his chance to make her explain what she meant.

"Is that you, _søster_?"

"Yes, it's me," she answered, sounding much more chipper than she had all day. She faced the dark-haired man approaching the gate door, sliding her hand down Tony's arm, into his hand, and linking their fingers. He glanced down at their joined hands and dismissed the urge to pull his hand away. He looked at the man again; he was tall, at least six feet, and had dark chestnut hair he wore pulled back in a stubby ponytail, and blue eyes so bright, Tony thought he would go blind from looking at him.

"Did Mother know you were coming?"

Loki cleared her throat again. "No. No one did."

The man jutted his chin towards them both, but mostly, Tony thought, in his direction. "_Hvem er dette?_"

Tony grinned politely, assuming the man was questioning Loki about him, but his eyes never wavered from the sharp blue ones studying him, taking in the suit and the hair, he noticed. Loki looked at Tony then smiled at the other man.

"You don't recognize Tony Stark, _Mørk_?"

His eyes darted to Loki then Tony, back to Loki and he aimed a finger at Tony. "_Er du drite meg_? You're Tony Stark?" he asked Tony directly in a similar accent to Loki's.

"Guilty," he said with a smile, stretching out his hand for Baldur to take. "And you are…?"

Loki let out a quiet chuckle. "This is my brother, Baldur. Baldur, Tony."

"Nice to meet you, Baldur."

Baldur chuckled slowly as he took his hand. "Tony Stark. No shit. And to think I thought tonight was going to be boring. Welcome to the madhouse." Baldur dropped Tony's hand and pushed through the gate, earning a shove from Loki as he passed.

"Where are you going?" she asked after him as he moved to a utility truck with the name _Odinson_ spelled out in big block letters across the side.

"Pop's out of beer! Don't worry," he tossed back with a sly grin, pausing just before he slid into the driver's seat. "I'll be back to see this."

Loki scoffed. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Tony let Loki pull him along the shoveled walkway, up the few steps to the porch, and followed her into the warmth of the house. He could hear several male voices overlapping, a few shouts, a couple of curses, and one hearty _'Bah!'_ And something smelled incredibly delicious. In the entry, Tony helped Loki off with her coat and the dressy blazer beneath it and removed his own, hanging them on the lone hook by the door.

Loki pulled her blouse from the band of the skirt, letting it hang loosely over her skirt, and Tony wondered if she thought her pregnancy was visible; because it wasn't. He lost himself tracing the shape of her hips, buttocks and thighs with his eyes, but when she made a soft, almost whining noise, he looked up toward her face again. "This is going to, for lack of a better word, suck."

Tony moved up behind her, and almost set his hands on her hips before remembering what she said earlier, and instead set them on her shoulders, sliding them down to her upper arms. "You say the word," he said quietly by her ear. "And we're outta here."

Loki leaned back a little and bumped her shoulder into his chest. "Do me a favor, Anthony." She spun around, straightened his tie then tugged on it to bring his face closer. "Stop winning me over." She planted a quick peck to the corner of his mouth and spun on her heel, pulling him behind her again into the living room.

Tony's delight at the impromptu kiss was quickly squashed when the pair stepped into the lively living room and everyone went silent. Four pairs of eyes were on them, staring, and Tony felt, judging. Clearly used to it, Loki simply tightened her hold on Tony's hand and planted the other on her hip.

"What are you all staring at? Can I not bring a date to dinner?"

"Of course, you can, Loki," a giant blond, even just sitting, with the same striking blue eyes as Baldur, spoke from the corner of a long sofa. "It's just that…"

"Why'd everyone get so quiet?"

Tony watched all the eyes move from him and Loki to a figure—dressed in what Tony recognized as a policeman's uniform, no less—that stepped out from the kitchen. Tony's own gaze was drawn back to Loki when she straightened her back and tensed just the slightest bit. Tony eyed the good-looking blond as he approached them, noting that his sapphire blue eyes never left Loki once he spotted her.

"_Hei, lille_."

"Hello, Fandral." Loki's fingers tensed around Tony's hand, and assuming it was what she wanted, he took one step closer to her. By Loki's reaction to the man, and the hard look he was currently receiving from the Norwegian cop, Tony assumed that there was some history between the two. And whatever that history was, he was betting it hadn't ended with a smile and a hug.

The blond's eyes slid to Tony as he closed the distance between him and Loki, taking him in slowly, moving up and down from his fancy shoes to his perfectly maintained goatee. He spoke, again in what Tony assumed was Norwegian, and jutted his chin toward Tony. This time it was Tony's hand that tightened around Loki's. If this guy thought a cop uniform was going to intimidate one Tony Stark, he was about to be severely disappointed.

Whatever he had said, Loki didn't like, judging by the way she bristled. But she held her ground, not that he expected any less. Little as he knew about her, he could already tell she was a woman that didn't take shit from anybody—man or woman. He kind of liked it. "This is Tony. Tony, this is Fandral…a friend of my brother's."

Again, he offered his hand first. "Hey, Jon; I'm Ponch. How's it going?" He laughed at his own joke, but no one else made a sound, aside from the choked snicker from Loki, who nudged him with her elbow. "Well, I guess they didn't have _CHiiPs_ over here, huh? Sorry, bad joke. I'm Tony; nice to meet you."

Fandral didn't immediately take his hand or look at him. Instead he was looking at Loki in what seemed like shock, and Tony had heard quiet, surprised whispers from behind the tall blond before he made his poor reference to an ancient American television show. Eventually, Fandral took Tony's hand, gave it one sharp pump, and dropped it. He spoke to Loki again and Tony heard that '_amerikanske__'_ word once more; this time with a distasteful sneer.

"Yes, he is my boyfriend and an American; do you want to make something of it?" Tony's eyes flicked sharply to Loki and he had to bite back the laughter threatening to burst past his lips at the taken aback look in Fandral's face.

"No," the blond responded stiffly. "As long as you are happy, _lille_."

Loki released Tony's hand, only to slip her arm around his waist. "I am." Tony, remembering his role as the newly attached boyfriend, wrapped his arm around Loki, hoping it didn't look as uncomfortable as it felt.

"Be good to her."

It took a nudge from Loki for Tony to realize Fandral was speaking to him. "Hmm—what—oh. Yeah, I—of course." _Chill, Tony_.

Fandral still wasn't looking at him; his eyes were locked on Loki. "She deserves to be treated like the princess she is."

Before Tony could make a smart retort about running out to buy her a crown, Loki scoffed and spoke first. "That was always your problem, Fandral; you could never see me beyond something you had to protect or watch over. I am not a child and nor do I want to be with someone who would treat me as one. I already have two overprotective fathers; I need not another."

Fandral's cheeks grew a little rosy and he shifted awkwardly. "Loki…I didn't mean…"

"Just go back to your food before Volstagg eats it all," she said before starting to lead Tony from the room.

A large man with auburn hair and a matching scruffy beard sat up from his seat in the middle of the couch. "Hey, _lille_, what did I do to you?"

She paused leaning back over the doorjamb to smile at him. "Sorry, Volstagg; that was a terribly poor, harmless joke at your expense." Loki continued into the empty hall, as the living room erupted into conversation and laughter again, stopping for a moment to press her hands to her face. "I'm sorry; I don't know where that came from."

"Hey, don't sweat it. You beat me to it."

She lowered her hands, leaned back against the wall. "What?"

"What he said, about treating you like a princess?" He made a face and shook his head. "You don't strike me as the type of girl—sorry, woman—who would want that."

Loki grinned softly. "No?"

"No. And I wouldn't do that anyway. I've seen some of my buddies go down that road. All it leads to is a very demanding woman and a lot of expensive gifts."

Loki snickered and sighed. "Well, that's not something you'll have to worry about with me, is it? Let's go get the rest of this done." She slapped a hand to his arm, in an overtly friendly gesture, and started ahead of him. He hesitated only a moment, before snatching her by the wrist.

"What was that they were calling you?"

She frowned minutely before smiling almost ruefully and shrugged a shoulder. "_Lille_. It's a family nickname of sorts; Little Loki…because I'm the small one."

Tony kept his eyes on her face as she looked away and brought a hand up to her cheek, touching his fingers lightly to her skin. "What's the Norwegian word for beautiful?"

Loki's black lashes fluttered as she avoided looking at him for a moment. She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "You think you're so smooth," she murmured. Tony's fingers brushed up, along her jaw, then down under her hair, trailing the nape of her neck. He smirked as the goosebumps rose on her skin.

He moved in closer, his body lightly pressing into hers against the wall, and nuzzled her cheek with his nose, moving his mouth to her ear. "Would it be impolite to remind you that I got you into bed after an hour of conversation?" He smiled when she snickered loudly, nearly snorting, and playfully thumped a fist into his stomach. He leaned back when she pressed her palms to his chest and lifted brighter eyes to his.

"Who said you got me into bed? It may have been your hotel room, Anthony, but I wouldn't have gone if I didn't want to."

"I believe that," he said with a chuckle.

"Wonderful, now _remember_ that. Let's go." He stepped back after she ducked under his arm and followed her into the kitchen. A blonde woman, in a fluffy sweater and a long skirt, was at the stove, stirring something that smelled sinfully sweet. Loki moved up to her side and pressed a kiss to her cheek before saying a word.

"Oh! Loki!" The woman, her mother, Tony thought, dropped her wooden spoon and threw her arms about Loki. "I'm so happy you came!"

"Hello, _mamma_." She asked something in Norwegian and stepped back to get a look at her. As they spoke softly, Tony stood back, feeling a little more out of place than he had expected. Affection always made him uneasy, mostly when it was directed at him, but it made something in his chest ache a little, thinking that he had never received a reception from anyone in his life like Loki just had.

"And who's this?"

Tony snapped back to attention, smiling politely, as Loki came back to his side and pulled him over. "_Mamma_, this is Anthony Stark. But you can call him Tony. We've been seeing each other for…a few months now. Tony, this is my mother, Frigga."

Tony took Frigga's hand between both of his, holding it for a moment. "It's wonderful to meet you, Frigga."

"Oh," she chuckled. "And you…Tony. You are American?" Frigga snuck a questioning glance at Loki.

"He's building a new branch of his company in Stockholm," Loki answered. Tony gave her a surprised look and she just smiled and bumped him with her elbow again.

"Is that so? That sounds lovely. You own your own company, then?"

Tony laughed softly. "Yeah, you could say that."

"_Mamma_, he's—" The banging of the back door leading from the backyard cut Loki off and a bundled up man stepped in. Tony felt Loki tense up again, and even step a little away from him. His own pulse began to race a little, knowing this was her father.

"Frigga! Where the Hel did _Mørk_ get off to? We need more wood cut." He removed his gear as he spoke and when he came into the kitchen he stopped. Tony made sure not to stare at the lone visible eye or the eye patch covering the other, even as the white-haired man watched him. The older man's gaze stayed on him briefly, before he set a most formidable look at Loki. "Well, look who decided to come around."

"Odin," Frigga scolded lightly.

"_Pappa_," Loki said by way of greeting.

"'_Pappa_?' That's all you have to say for yourself?"

Loki let out a long breath and separated herself even further from Tony. "Why don't you save us all some time and tell me what you want me to say?"

"Look here, girl—"

"Loki! Why don't you introduce Tony?" Frigga interrupted with an overly bright smile.

A few tense moments passed, and Tony had to fight a smile. This was what he was used to. Loki made an unhappy noise and reached for Tony's arm. "_Pappa_, this is Tony Stark. Anthony, this is my father, Odin."

Tony did smile now and reached for Odin's hand. "Hi, how are you?" Odin shook his hand but said nothing. "You know, Loki's talked about you two so much, it's nice to put faces to the names."

Odin showed no change of expression. "That's interesting because she's never said a word about you."

Loki set her jaw. "_Pappa_—"

"How long is this one going to be around until you go back to Fandral? Aren't you supposed to be marrying him?"

"For the last time, he never asked me to marry him!" Loki shouted, clearly unconcerned if anyone outside the kitchen heard her. "He wanted to _shack_ up with me, not marry me. And _I_ don't want _him_." She turned to Tony. "Really, I don't want him." Tony numbly shook his head, the words _what did I get myself into_ running through his head.

"I can't keep up with you anymore," Odin griped. "You don't show up to see your mother for two months and when you do you bring some _American_ with you?"

"What I do and who I do it with is none of your—"

"That's my fault," Tony broke in, silencing Loki. Three very piercing pairs of eyes set on him and he grinned, though his mind was running wild with thoughts of panic, fleeing, and how to ease the pressure on Loki.

"Anthony…"

He laid his hand at the small of Loki's back, and at Odin's raised brow, slid it up to rest between her shoulder blades, and on a third thought, he set it on her shoulder, in perfect view of Odin's sharp cycloptic gaze. "Since we've met I've kind of been dominating her time," he said with a shameless shrug. "What can I tell you, except that your daughter is a wonderful woman, and there's never a dull moment when she's with me."

Loki hesitantly smiled at him then looked wearily at Odin. He didn't look pleased but before he could say anything Frigga took Tony's arm. "Tony, let's get you something to eat. The food is just in the dining room…away from all the knives," she muttered under her breath as they exited the kitchen.

Tony let Frigga lead him out, vaguely hearing Odin and Loki begin to speak. The words weren't clear, but the tone told him it wasn't the happiest of conversations. As they headed down another hall Tony spotted some beautiful paintings on either side of the walls and paused to look at them more closely. "These are amazing."

Frigga stopped and turned back, grinning softly at him. "Aren't they?"

"I actually collect art. It's more for financial purposes, but every once in awhile I find something I want to keep for myself. This one…" He aimed a finger at a painting of a picturesque cabin surrounded by snow, and beyond, in the distance, he could see stables and horses. "Is this a real place?"

There was silence for a beat. "Has Loki never shown you her work?"

_Shit_. Tony chuckled, hoping Frigga couldn't hear the anxiety that laced it. "Of course she has! I just, I haven't seen a lot of—what I mean is…it's so rare when she lets me see something, I always feel like it's the first time I'm seeing her work."

Frigga nodded slowly. "It's true; my Loki is very private about her art. This is our cabin up north, along the Swedish border. We spend Christmas there and the rare holiday. Loki hasn't been since this last Christmas, but she keeps a horse there, with Odin's."

Rides horses—Tony never would have guessed that. He moved to another painting and he recognized it as the place in the reserve, the tree Loki was sitting on just hours earlier, crossing through it. "I know this place! She took me there."

"Did she?"

He looked over his shoulder at the surprise in Frigga's tone. "Is that weird?"

"Oh…no…it, um… That's one of those places she goes to, to think and be alone, has since she moved there. She's told me of it, but I've never seen it. I'm surprised she would allow anyone into that." Tony stared, unmoving, wondering if he made an error in revealing that. "She must trust you a great deal."

Tony felt his jaw drop minutely, but he couldn't move a muscle to close it again. A line of coldness rushed down his spine; that wasn't true, but the mere thought brought up…feelings. Ugh, this was why he avoided situations like this. Thankfully, rising voices from the kitchen drew Frigga's attention.

"Tony." He blinked, pulled himself out of his stupor. "Help yourself to anything, right through that doorway," she aimed down the hall to another entry. How many rooms did this place have? "And, please excuse me."

He watched Frigga hurry off back to the kitchen and slowly wandered to the doorway she had indicated. He stepped through to find a long cherry wood table covered with plates of food: meat, chicken, side dishes, salads, snacks. He was amazed that this constituted a family dinner for one night. Then again, Maria wasn't exactly Suzy Homemaker. If his mother had ever stepped foot in the kitchen to do more than berate the chef, he just might die of shock.

"Don't look so frightened."

"Jesus!" Tony jumped at the accented and slightly raspy female voice from the corner he hadn't noticed. She smiled and shifted the nursing baby to quickly cover herself and lifted him to rest on her shoulder.

"Sorry."

Something clicked in his busy mind and Tony chuckled as he stepped forward. "No, no, I just wasn't expecting anyone to be in here. You must be Sif. And this must be Loki. Well, boy Loki."

Keeping that bright smiled on her face, Sif nodded. "Yes, but we just call him LJ to avoid any confusion."

He watched as she burped the baby, fascinated and terrified all at once. "LJ…?"

"Loki Junior; a little family joke. I'm sorry, but how do you know mine and my son's names?"

"Oh, damn, my bad! I'm Tony." He held out his hand then waved off the shake, remembering her hands were busy. "I'm…I'm with Loki."

Sif seemed to smile even wider. "Ah, so are you the one that's kept her away from us for so long?"

He laughed almost nervously. "Yeah, I guess I am."

She looked at the baby as he let out a loud burp. "Ooh, there we go. Um, listen, I'd hate to bother you…" She stood, still rubbing the baby's back. "But I've had to pee for ages."

"Er, okay…" Tony stiffened.

"Could you hold him for just a few minutes?" She moved toward him, turning the baby and holding him out toward Tony. "He should be fine, but just in case…" She held the baby in one arm and took the cloth from over her shoulder, laid it over his. "I wouldn't want to ruin that nice shirt and vest. Seeing as it probably cost a fortune." She giggled quietly to herself.

"But I'm really not the one who should—and you're putting him in my arms." Tony just stood there, as Sif placed the baby against his chest, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around him." Oh, holy sh…sugar."

Sif laughed again. "I won't be more than a few minutes. Thank you."

"What if—uh…" Tony's words died away as Sif skipped out of the room. "Oh, crap." The baby babbled at him and he turned his head, leaning back to look at him. The baby's big dark honey-colored eyes widened as he did the same. "Looks like you're stuck with me, kid."

* * *

Loki wasted no time after Frigga removed Tony from the kitchen to turn on her father. "Well, you certainly know how to make a lasting first impression, don't you, _Pappa_?"

The scowl on Odin's face didn't change a bit. "Don't test my patience, girl. Where have you been?"

Loki sighed wearily and moved to the cabinet where she knew Frigga kept the stash of cookies and crackers. "Where I always am when I'm not here: Stockholm. Oh, yes," she hissed to herself when she found a box of saltine crackers.

"You must have me mistaken for someone who is playing games. So let's try again. Why haven't you been to dinner in over two months?"

"Because I'm busy!" she shouted, recoiling a little immediately, because Odin's face darkened even more. "I'm sorry. But, _pappa_, I am busy with school and work; you know this."

"All the more reason you should leave and come back to Asgard for good," Odin snapped. "There is no point in you continuing with this schooling nonsense when it won't be of any use to you in the future."

Loki slammed the half-eaten, slim bag of crackers she had pulled from the box down to the counter she leaned against, facing her father. "Won't be of any use?" she repeated incredulously.

Odin groaned, perhaps because he could see what was coming. "Don't get hysterical on me, Loki."

"Don't get—" She tried desperately to tamper down on her temper, knowing lashing out at Odin would do no good and would only serve to make her look as if she really was hysterical. She ground her teeth together, not easing up even as she began to speak. "Why is it so hard for you to grasp the concept of me being a working woman? This is not the Dark Ages; it's not looked down upon in society anymore if a woman gets up every day and goes out to earn a respectable living!"

"I care not what society thinks. You're mother gets up every day and she takes care of me and this house. Are you saying she's not respectable?"

"Do not twist my words to suit you! If that was what my mother wanted, then I'm happy for her. But it is _not_ what _I_ want." He sighed, rolling his eye away, and Loki glared harder simply because the gesture made her heart ache. "Why can you not just support me like you support Thor and Mørk?" she asked quietly, fighting the emotions that made her eyes sting and her fists clench.

Odin brought his sharp blue eye to meet Loki's gaze. "I support you coming home and settling down with Fandral."

"Oh, for gods' sake!" Loki erupted and stepped forward, ready to unleash, but her mother's appearance stopped her.

"Enough, you two!" Frigga swept in, pulling Loki away from Odin. "Enough. This is not the time for this discussion. We have guests." She glanced toward the living room, but no one seemed to care about the ruckus in the kitchen. "Thankfully, they are loud enough they can't hear you. Loki…" She turned to her daughter and briefly cupped her cheek before letting her hands fall to grasp Loki's. "Your father wants only what is best for you. You know that."

Loki looked at Odin, who only turned away, seemingly bored with the conversation. She huffed out a pained breath, fighting the nausea all the scents in the kitchen were causing her. "No, I don't. And he doesn't." She promised herself she would feel guilty later about snatching herself away from Frigga's grasp.

"Loki…"

She stopped in the doorway. "I'm not marrying Fandral. And that is final." She stormed from the kitchen, stopping at the end of the hall to collect herself, dropping her face into her hands. She straightened and wiped at her cheeks when she heard the bathroom door, on the other end of the hall open, and hid in the shadows.

Sif stepped out, adjusting her belt, and had barely taken two steps before Thor was there, snatching her up from behind, making her giggle as he nuzzled her, burying his face in her hair. She reached behind her to cup his cheek, turning hers into his. "Where did you come from, handsome?"

"Your better dreams, beautiful. Where have you been hiding? I've missed you." Thor spun her around, placed his large hands at her hips, and lifted her just off the ground to place a soft, slow kiss to her lips.

"I was—" She moaned softly at the kiss, wrapping her arms around Thor's neck. "I was feeding your son; who I need to get back to." She started to pull away but Thor refused to let her go.

"Wait." He gathered her close, kissing her again, pressing her up against the closet door just outside the bathroom. Sif laughed again, husky and low, and moved her mouth away from Thor's.

"You've been drinking, my good man."

"Mmnh…it does not make me want you any less. It has been ages, my love…" he groaned, rubbing his nose against hers.

Sif hummed against him, caressing his face as they embraced. "I know." Thor bent to find her mouth again, his hands sliding down to cup her bottom. "Mmm…careful," she murmured, pulling his hands back up to her back. "That's how we got the little one in the first place."

Thor grunted softly, moving, nearly swaying his body with his wife's, before pressing her into the closet again. "Could we…? Tonight…?" he asked softly, brushing his nose with Sif's, teasing her lips with his. At the other end of the hall, Loki wrinkled her nose in disgust. But she was trapped where she was. "I need you, Sif…"

She cupped his face and pulled him in to kiss him passionately; passionately enough that he was caught off guard had to balance himself, throwing out a hand against the door behind her. "Stop your drinking. And we shall see. I'll keep LJ awake as long as I can, so he'll sleep longer."

Thor growled and pressed himself into her again. "Do you feel what you do to me?"

"Thor!" Sif giggled and dipped her head to muffle it. "Behave yourself. You are in your parents' home. Don't be so crass."

"One more kiss…?"

Loki smiled softly at them, happy for them, but aching a little for herself, knowing it would never be like that for her. It hit her suddenly that Sif didn't have the baby, and she wondered where he was. She heard a little babble from the dining room and headed there, pausing in the doorway, tickled by the scene before her.

"Looks like you're stuck with me, kid," Tony said to the four-month old baby. LJ babbled again, laughing a little, and reached up to touch Tony's face, his little fingers curling tightly into his goatee. "Ow, ow, ow!" Loki giggled and quickly covered her mouth when Tony jolted around at the sound.

"Oh, be careful!" She rushed forward, arms out toward the baby as he swayed in Tony's arms, cupping her hand behind his head.

"Take him, please, before I damage him for life." Loki ran a hand over LJ's dark hair. He was the spitting image of Sif so far. Thor appeared to really enjoy that.

"You seem to be doing fine."

"I feel like I'm gonna drop him. Please."

Loki chuckled and slipped her hands under the baby's arms, lifting him from Tony's hands, and rocked him a little once he was settled against her. She cupped her hand at the back of his head and he leaned back, smiling up at her. "Hello, little one."

LJ did the same to Loki that he had done to Tony, reaching up to touch her face, but Loki grabbed his hand and kissed his tiny fingers. Tony watched, a little in awe, because she showed no fear and held him just right to get him laughing. "You're good with him."

She smiled at him briefly, returning her attention to LJ. "Well…my youngest brother was two years old when I met him, so…" She looked at Tony again, smirking a little. "And I'm not deathly afraid of little humans like you."

He straightened. "I'm not afraid. I just don't have any experience with…kids." His last word came out softly, as if he instantly realized he shouldn't have said that. Uneasy, Loki turned back to LJ once again.

"I hear it's different…when it's your own. At least, that's what Thor said."

"What did I say?" Thor entered the dining area, tugging along Sif, whose swollen lips and red-streaked neck gave away what they had been doing. LJ, hearing his father's deep and booming voice, looked around for him, smiling when he finally spotted him. "There's my boy. Hand him over, Lo." Loki felt her face go hot at nearly being caught speaking about babies and numbly let Thor take the baby. He lifted the baby in his big hands, holding him up high, chuckling.

"Careful, Thor, I just fed him," Sif warned, ever the worried new mother.

"Hmm," the large blonde chuckled and brought LJ down to rest against his chest, and wrapped his arm around Sif's waist. "You shouldn't say such things, love. I may become jealous of my own son." He lowered his head to kiss her, but ended up nuzzling her cheek and neck when she turned her mouth away.

"There are people present, you fiend," she scolded lightly.

"As if I haven't been witness to this for years already," Loki said, almost as an aside to Tony. Sif laughed her throaty, husky laugh.

"You have, yes, but Tony has not."

"Ah! Tony! Is that your name? I don't believe we were properly introduced." Thor raised his arm from around Sif to shake Tony's hand, not noticing the way she rolled her eyes at him.

Loki narrowed her own at her brother as Tony reached around her. "Perhaps if certain people weren't invited, I would have introduced him to everyone _properly_."

Thor sighed and gave her the impatient look only a brother could give. "Loki. He's my oldest friend. He has been coming around here for so long. You know this. He's like family."

"And what am I?"

The blond glanced anxiously at Tony and shifted LJ to his other side so he could continue giggling at his mother, who was busy making faces at him. "You're my sister and I love you. But, it's not my fault that you and…" He looked at Tony again. "Can we talk about this later?"

"No," she responded stubbornly. "That I what?"

"Give me the baby." Thor looked at his wife, trying to fix her with a sharp look, but her eyes were only for her son. She flapped her fingers at LJ and he started to lean toward her, reaching out his little arms to her, even whining for her. "Give him to me. Tony, grab a plate for yourself and come join me and the others in the living room."

Tony didn't move from Loki's side. But Loki was too furious with Thor to notice. "Don't bother, Sif. It's quite obvious where my _brother's_ loyalties lie. Excuse me."

"Loki, don't go away…" Thor sighed unhappily as Loki walked out of the room. "Mad," he finished after she disappeared around the corner. Tony started to follow, only making it a few steps before Sif stopped him.

"You should wait. Let her cool off. If you go after her now, she'll only bite your head off, and she's not mad at _you_." Sif's lips curved even as Thor glared at her.

"Yeah…I've had some experience with that."

Sif grinned. "What did she do?"

He lifted his shoulders casually. "Threatened to throw me in a lake."

Thor chuckled once, drawing the others' eyes to him. "That's our Loki. Sometimes she has such violent tendencies."

Tony's jaw clenched, a surge of something flaring in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but it made him not like Loki's brother in that moment. "Yeah, well, I think I'll take my chances. Might be nice if she knew at least _one_ person in this house is on her side."

Sif stifled her laugh and folded her lips together to hide her smile as Tony walked out; following the way Loki had gone. She looked at Thor, whose mouth was hanging open. "I like him."

He frowned grumpily, pouting at his wife. "Hush, woman."

* * *

"Loki?"

Tony whispered into the empty hall. He had searched for her, through open doors in the hall, the kitchen, and the living room, but he couldn't find her anywhere. It was while he was in the living room that he saw the small figure outside the window on the porch. He snatched up his coat, and seeing it hanging next to his still, picked up hers, before rushing outside. His body instantly shivered against the cold.

"Are you crazy coming out here without a jacket on?" he stated more than asked as he wrapped hers around her, before huddling into his own.

Loki grinned softly and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her coat. "I think I'm a little more accustomed to the cold than you are."

"_You_ are maybe." He jerked his chin toward her, ignoring her red-rimmed eyes because he didn't want to upset her more. And also because…emotions. No. "What about Junior?"

She frowned and laughed softly. "Junior…?"

Tony smirked, shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, it works. If it's a boy, it'll be a junior me; if it's a girl, a junior you."

Her smile faltered a little before she turned her face away. "There's already a Loki Junior, remember?"

Tony looked over his shoulder, through the window back into the house, catching a glimpse of Thor's friends fawning all over LJ. "Do you know what you want?"

"From what…?"

Tony chuckled and looked back at her, taking note of the way she absently toyed with the hem of her skirt. "I mean, the ba—um, the…you know," he mumbled softly. "Do you know what you want?"

Her face fell a little, her eyes misting over a little as she looked off, seeming now worlds away. "It would be easier if he were a boy, wouldn't it?" she murmured.

He frowned, at everything: her tone, her words, the expression on her face. "Why do you say that?"

Loki sighed and glanced back through the window, just as he had, before looking out at the dark yard. "It's always easier for boys. More is expected of him, there is more opportunity for him, and more is promised to him. He doesn't have to face many hurdles in life simply because of the organ between his legs."

Tony smirked almost ruefully. "That's not always true."

Bright green eyes flicked up to his face, almost defiant in their focus, and red lips curved on one side. "And how would you know, Anthony _Stark_? When have you ever had to struggle?"

He angled his head, with a small playful sigh. "You have a point. And I'm not going to deny it's hard for women. The world is still very patriarchal, of course, but you can't deny it's gotten a little better. _You're_ a college graduate, for god's sake," he said, flinging a hand toward her. "It wasn't that long ago that a woman couldn't even go to college." He leaned against the house when she nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly, and looked away. A little closer to her now, he reached out to toy with the ends of her hair, draped in a thick tail over her shoulder, after she had pulled it from inside the coat. "Not every city is like Asgard, Loki. And not all fathers are like Odin. Or Howard…"

Loki turned her head just slightly, so her hair didn't fall completely from his fingertips, and stayed silent; waiting for him to continue, he figured.

"I think…no matter what you have, you're going to raise an incredible individual." He lifted his eyes to her face, studying her profile. "He or she will be strong like you."

Her head shot up. "You…you think me strong?"

He scoffed, half-chuckling with it. "To deal with the shit I've seen you put up with here tonight? As an ox, babe." Tony straightened, his hands flying up, when her eyes glistened even more and she turned away. "What'd I do? Was it something I said?" He moved toward her, but didn't dare touch her.

"No…" Loki chuckled wetly, and faced him. "You've barely spent one evening with my family…and you already see what…what I've always been told I imagine. I know not whether to be relieved or ashamed."

Because he hated seeing tears on a pretty girl's face, Tony reached out to swipe away a fat tear just about to roll down her cheek. "Not everyone is as sexist as your dad you know. I mean, I'm no great example of an evolved man, but…I know some pretty extraordinary women who get shit done."

Loki laughed again, sniffling. "There you go again." She moved her head to wipe at her other eye and Tony dropped his hand.

"What?"

"Winning me over." She inhaled shakily and looked up at him, smiling softly. Struck dumb for a moment, because she looked so pretty and sweet under the porch light, with her damp eyes and reddened nose, Tony lightly caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting up her face.

"Sorry. I tend to do that." He moistened his nearly chapped lips and lowered his head until their mouths came together in a soft brushing of lips. Loki stepped closer, her fingers clutching into Tony's coat at his sides, and he parted his lips more when she moved to deepen the kiss.

He had just felt the thick wetness of her tongue when suddenly she stepped back. It took a moment for him to realize it was because she heard Thor's friends coming out of the house. He licked his lips, his eyes still locked on hers, focused on his chest, grinning smugly at her flushed cheeks and the way she pressed her fingers to her lips.

"Bye, Loki!"

She leaned to her side to wave weakly at Volstagg and the others as they called out their goodbyes. "Bye, all." Her eyes floated to Tony as he moved to her side again.

"It was nice to see you, _lille_," Fandral said from just outside the door.

Loki must have still been a little flustered from the kiss—as she should be—and blinked rapidly as she looked at the blond cop. Casually, Tony slipped his hand in hers, lacing their fingers, and lifted both to wave at Fandral. "Nice meeting you," he called out.

They both tried not to laugh at the look on Fandral's face, especially as Thor walked out behind Fandral, carrying a giggling LJ. The bigger, bulkier blonde spotted Loki and Tony, eyed his sister, and grinned when she cleared her throat and turned her body into Tony's, hiding her face.

"What?" Tony murmured, releasing her hand only to wrap his arm around her waist. He was totally getting the hang of this boyfriend thing.

"Nothing," she said with a small laugh and smile for him. Tony was drawn into that jade-hued gaze again, looking away only when Sif's booted footsteps were heard rushing out to wrap a blanket around the baby in Thor's arms. The large man grunted softly at her.

"He's fine; stop fussing, woman. He'll need to get used to it eventually."

Sif responded by thumping a fist against his giant arm, sticking her tongue at her husband when he grunted at her again. "Don't you talk to me like that, _man_; or I'll put us both straight to sleep when we get home."

"N-no-no, wait; I didn't—! Damn." He sighed, defeated, when she disappeared back inside the house. He glared at Fandral when the man snickered softly. "Get out." LJ twisted in Thor's arms, fussing and whining, and just barely dodged a tiny fist.

"That's not very hospitable of you, my friend."

"Laugh at your superior, would you?" Thor attempted to sound threatening as he rocked LJ in his arms.

"Pfft, superior, my ass. You may rank higher than me, Odinson, but at least I don't have a woman ordering me around."

Tony leaned down closer to Loki's ear, still keeping a hold on her hand. "They work together? You're brother's a cop?" He set his eyes on her face when he felt the shiver course through her. Did he cause that?

"Yes. Thor is the youngest sheriff the town's ever had. Fandral was out for a year or so after getting shot in the arm so he missed the chance to be his deputy. Let's go back inside. I haven't had anything to eat and I'm starving."

"You haven't eaten? Are you nauseous? Sorry," he muttered, when she aimed an impatient look his way. He suppressed a laugh as he let her pull him toward the door.

"You wish you had a woman as beautiful as my Sif ordering you around," Thor pointed out to Fandral, adjusting LJ in his arms again, so the blanket was wrapped around him. "Someone ought to keep you in line."

Fandral laughed but it quickly died away. "I had a good woman once." Both Tony and Loki paused at Fandral's statement. Tony glanced back and saw Thor's face redden as he rubbed a large hand over LJ's back, and then eyed Loki when she crossed back in front of him. He tightened his hold on her hand, bringing her to a stop.

"Let me make this clear, once and for all…"

"Loki." Thor went silent when she threw up a hand to quiet him.

"You _never_ had me, Fandral." Tony felt a fleeting pang of sympathy when the blond's dashing smile faded, his eyes darted from Loki to him behind her, to Thor, and finally, to his feet. "No one has me," Loki continued. "I am my own person. I belong to no one. So stop telling people whatever it is you are telling them." She paused at LJ's cry, the baby struggling again against his father's massive chest. "I'm sorry. But whatever it was we had ended a long time ago."

Thor wrapped a heavy hand around her arm. "Loki, he only—"

"Could you just for once be my brother and not his friend?" Loki pleaded with him, turning to look at him with big, green eyes. Thor's face crumpled into a frown.

"But, I am…" LJ cried out again, his arms reaching for Loki. She untangled her fingers from Tony's, took her arm from Thor's grasp, and cupped her hands under the baby's arms.

"Give him to me. He's cold." Thor let her take him and Tony stepped aside as Loki went back into the house, slamming the screen door behind her. Tony stood there for a moment, just outside the door, unsure what to do.

Thor watched Loki until she disappeared then turned back to Fandral. "Fandral…" The man simply waved Thor off and started down the porch, rushing to his car. Both Tony and Thor watched him leave, and Tony tensed when Thor turned those bright blue eyes on him. "I'm sorry, you had to witness that."

Tony shrugged his shoulders, at a loss of what else he should do.

"It must be awkward for you; meeting your woman's former lover."

The genius had to stop himself from gawking and laughing out loud. "Look. I don't want to step on any toes here…"

"No, please," Thor motioned for him to continue as he leaned his bulky frame against the porch railing. "Feel free to speak your mind."

Tony winced a little. His mouth could often get away from him. And though the idea was that he wasn't going to be around after this night, he didn't want to leave a mess for Loki to have to clean up later. "That's probably not the best idea. But, for the record, she's not 'my woman,'" he added finger quotes so his point was clear. "And, generally speaking, women don't really like being referred to as someone's woman. Your wife kind of demonstrated that earlier."

Thor's smile spread wide, kind of surprising Tony, and he chuckled, crossing those bazookas he called arms over his chest. "You think me primitive."

"I didn't say that."

"But you _think_ it, Tony Stark."

"What I think doesn't ma—wait." His brows drew together and he chuckled softly. "How did you—? You know who I am?"

Thor nodded once. "I know my sister thinks she is the only educated one in this family. And as far as formal education goes, she would be right. Mørk and I were never good in school, finding our talents elsewhere. But I know more than she thinks I do."

_Uh-oh_. Alarm bells started to go off in the back of Tony's mind. What was this dude trying to say? Did he know their whole appearance tonight was a lie? Did he know Loki was pregnant? _Shit, shit, shit_. "Well…" Tony slapped his hands together, rubbing the cold from them. He should really invest in some gloves and a scarf. "Maybe you know how these things work then," he blurted, turning the direction of the conversation.

Thor cocked a blond brow.

"I've got a lot of people following me around. Reporters, photographers, nosy bloggers, and shit like that. I don't want her to get caught up in that." It wasn't a total lie. Tony often did have people following him around. Was it strange that a rich, corporate heir had fangirls and fanboys from countries across the globe clamoring for a picture, an autograph, a smile? Absolutely. But as much as he enjoyed the admiration, and the job put upon him by the media to make science sexy, he wouldn't wish the fishbowl life on his worst enemy. And he damn sure wasn't about to let them drag Loki into it.

"Ah. I see." Thor nodded again, like he was making an informal agreement with Tony and straightened from the porch railing. "I'll make sure we keep your visit tonight, and any future ones, quiet." He grinned again, as if he and Tony now shared a secret.

"Thanks." He started to go back into the house and turned to Thor once again. "She's a really exceptional woman, you know."

Thor's forehead creased as his brows rose, and he pursed his lips in acknowledgement. "Do you believe I am not aware of this?"

Tony raised a hand, a gesture of innocence, but grinned with it. "It's been my experience that actions speak louder than words." His held his breath for a moment when Thor's brows lowered, and he smiled, his jaw working as he did.

"She may not be of my blood, but she is my sister in every way. I have watched her grow from a rosy-cheeked babe to a bratty, rambunctious teen to the woman you love today."

_Love? Who said love?_ Tony shifted a little, his stomach muscles tightening almost painfully. Now he was the nauseous one. "Well, I don't know that I…"

"I know our father is unfair and entirely too judgmental toward her," Thor went on, cutting Tony off. "But he is of a different time." Tony's eyes darted away so Thor didn't see him roll his eyes. "He is very much like our grandfather, who felt that women had their place. Were he alive today, he would be most displeased with Loki's situation."

Tony straightened, tilting his head back, when Thor rose to his full height and stepped away from the porch railing. He was not at all intimidated by the size of this mountain of a man. "She can take care of herself. She's done a pretty good job of that for this long."

The blonde nodded. "Yes. Perhaps I understand my father's feelings more, now that I am a father."

Despite the unwelcome bolt of panic he felt at the mention of the newly dreaded F-word, Tony cocked his head, curious. "What do you mean? You agree with him?"

"No." Thor shook his head, slipping his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. "All you want is to protect them; to make sure they aren't ever hurt. You never want your child to know pain."

Feeling a little tickle in his throat, because it had suddenly gone dry, Tony cleared it before speaking. "I…I may not be a father…" _Yet_. "And I know I don't know your family all that well."

"Not yet," Thor said jovially, leaning forward in a friendly move that had Tony chuckling anxiously.

"But," he stressed the word to return Thor's attention to his more serious tone, "putting pressure on your kid just because she—or _he_—isn't what you want them to be? _I_ know what that's like."

Thor's face smoothed, sobered. "Hmm," he hummed in agreement, glancing through the window into the house. At the softness that washed over his face, Tony turned, wondering what he was seeing.

Frigga and Odin were sitting on the sofa with Sif, playing with LJ. He didn't see Loki, but Mørk, who had apparently returned earlier, likely when he was meeting Sif, entered the room from the kitchen, handing off a beer to Odin and taking a long drink from one of his own. He stretched his neck a little and spotted Loki, standing off to the side of the room, watching her family and munching on a chicken leg. Something told him the scene wasn't entirely pleasing to her.

"I think my father would feel better if she had a man with her in Stockholm." Toy whipped back around to look at Thor. "He wouldn't worry as much if she were married."

The genius cocked a brow. "Does he really believe that a piece of paper and an overpriced piece of jewelry will protect her?"

Thor chuckled, almost sighing, and looked as if he was refraining from saying something confrontational. "I know not for sure, Mr. Stark. Perhaps it would just serve to give him some peace of mind."

"_Thor!_" Sif's voice came from inside.

"Coming, my love!" he responded immediately. Tony wondered if Thor knew how conflicting his behavior was. He presented such a masculine figure outwardly, but he was total mush when it came to his wife, and likely, with his son, too. "I know there are bigger things that my sister wants, Tony."

"Yeah, she does." He knew that much so far.

"Then perhaps you are the man to help her get those things."

Tony winced at the heavy palm that landed on his shoulder, and stared frozen at the porch as Thor brushed past him into the house. He pursed his lips a little, thinking perhaps he could. His attention was drawn back to the house when voices started to rise—voices he recognized as Thor's and Loki's. Confused, Tony rushed to open the screen door. He had barely stepped inside when Loki was shoving him right back out.

"What? What happened?"

"Loki, come back!"

Tony's eyes flicked up as Frigga rushed to the door, righting himself as Loki yanked him off the porch. "Loki."

"Just keep walking. Call your jet or whatever you need to do. I will call a cab." Her words tumbled from her mouth and Tony could tell she was fighting some strong emotion—either breaking down in tears or flying out in a rage, as she fumbled with her blazer and searched her pockets for her phone.

He walked fast; doing his best to keep up with Loki's hurried pace, and quietly took his own phone from his coat pocket. He hit the number for the pilot, and keeping a close watch on Loki, brought the phone to his ear.


End file.
